Insight LiDAR’s first self-driving vehicle Lidar capable of recognizing human body movement

Insight LiDAR, a technology development company for self-driving vehicles, has unveiled the Insight 1600 lidar. According to the company, it is the first lidar whose resolution and speed can detect pedestrian movements. It is argued that this capability can be used by self-driving systems to quickly and accurately predict pedestrian activity.

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“When people are driving, they constantly scan their environment,” commented Greg Smolka, Insight LiDAR vice president of development. “We monitor cars entering our lane and look at nearby pedestrians to understand their intentions. For example, if a pedestrian at an intersection looks in both directions, the drivers understand that this person intends to cross the street. ”

Insight LiDAR vice president Chris Wood said that detecting subtle pedestrian movements that convey their intent is an important safety feature that has eluded self-driving vehicle developers so far.

The Insight 1600, unlike most other lidars, uses a technology known as Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave or FMCW. It allows you to significantly increase the range and resolution of scanning, coupled with special software, making it possible not only to detect but also to identify small objects with low reflectivity at distances exceeding 200 m.

An important advantage of the Insight 1600, the manufacturer calls the low cost in mass production, provided by the use of photonic integrated circuits and specialized integrated circuits, manufactured using the usual semiconductor manufacturing technology.