Hesai Unveils First Color-Detecting Lidar for Self-Driving Cars
Chinese tech company Hesai announced a new lidar sensor that can detect both distance and color for self-driving cars. The EXT lidar is the first device to combine spatial mapping and color detection in one unit.
Hesai Technology, a major supplier to chip giant Nvidia, unveiled its EXT lidar sensor at an event in Shanghai. The device uses the company's own Picasso chip to detect both how far objects are and what color they are.
Lidar sensors shoot laser beams to map surroundings, but until now they could only detect shapes and distances. Adding color detection helps cars better identify traffic signals, road markings, and other important visual cues that human drivers rely on.
Hesai is China's leading lidar maker and supplies sensors used in advanced driver assistance systems. The company's products are used in cars with features like automatic braking and lane-keeping assistance.
The breakthrough comes as automakers race to develop fully self-driving vehicles. Better sensors are seen as crucial for making autonomous cars safe enough for everyday use on public roads.
This could make self-driving cars safer by helping them better identify objects like red traffic lights, yellow lane markers, and different colored road signs. Better sensors could speed up when fully autonomous cars hit the road.
Watch for other lidar companies to develop competing color-detection technology and automakers to test the new sensors.
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