The American company Luminar unveils a brand new LiDAR sensor offering a range of up to 300 meters. This will notably equip the next Mercedes cars, thus allowing the brand to have an additional head start on Tesla in the field of autonomous driving. We explain to you everything that will change.
A few days ago, Mercedes announced the signing of a brand new partnership with the American company Luminar. Specializing in the development of autonomous driving systems, the firm is already collaborating with Volvo for its EX90 as well as with the Chinese brand Rising Auto, which offers hands-free driving on its new R7. The F7 sedan unveiled a few days ago should also be equipped with it.
More advanced technology
So far, we haven’t had too many details about the technology that will therefore equip the next Mercedes models. But now we know a little more, as Luminar has just organized its Investor Day. As with that of Tesla, which will take place this Wednesday, March 1, this event allows the company to give its news, present its results and announce its next innovations.
And this time, the firm founded in 2012 and based in Florida takes advantage of this new edition to present us with a reworked and improved version of its LiDAR sensor known as Iris. Called Iris+, this newcomer should offer superior performance to that currently produced by the company, in detecting small objects more effectively.
Greater efficiency whatever the pace at which the vehicle is traveling, while the company evokes speeds such as those reached on the German Autobahn (freeways with unlimited speed). This radar offers a range of up to 300 meters, as announced in the company’s statement, which should not be confused with the artificial intelligence-based photo editing software. As a reminder, the previous model did not exceed 250 meters.
If the first copies of this Iris+ have already been delivered to certain large customers of the company, it will however be necessary to wait until 2025 for mass production. One of the first cars to be equipped with it could be the future EQA scheduled for 2025. As a reminder, the EQS and S-Class, which already authorize level 3 are already equipped with a LiDAR sensor.
A step ahead
Thus, the firm with the star, whose autonomous driving is already authorized in Europe and recently in Nevada should confirm its length ahead of Tesla, while its system would be more efficient than Autopilot. As a reminder, the FSD (full self-driving) is still in beta test in the United States and is not yet approved in Europe, even if we have already been able to test it. In addition, the firm of Elon Musk is currently under investigation following a new fatal accident involving the Autopilot.
If Tesla is preparing to deploy Hardware 4 on its future models, and in particular the Cybertruck, the firm does not believe in radars and LiDAR at all and prefers cameras to them, via the Tesla Vision system. However, it could be that speed cameras are making a comeback, as official documents suggest. But no LiDAR in sight, although a Model Y with this type of sensor had been seen in 2021.
For Elon Musk, radars are still too unreliable compared to cameras. Nevertheless, he could be interested in the technology developed by the French company Plastic Omnium unveiled at CES in Las Vegas. It is a millimetric 4D Imager radar, more discreet because it is integrated directly into the bumper and not on the roof unlike LiDARs. Moreover, it offers greater reliability, while its operation is not affected by weather conditions, for example.
As a reminder, the LiDAR is able to calculate with great precision the distance that separates the car from any object that is on its way. Thus, it is able to efficiently and quickly map its environment, detect the various obstacles, vehicles and human beings. The main concern remains its high cost, which is why only high-end vehicles are equipped with it For now.
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