Mobileye has taken a different strategy from many of its
self-driving car competitors, with a current camera-based system that helps
cars with adaptive cruise control and lane change assistance. Those systems are
on the road today and are gathering data to help Mobileye map the roads in new
cities.
For more advanced systems, the company plans to add both
radar sensors, which use radio waves to detect distance from objects, and
lidar, a laser-based system that helps self-driving vehicles gain a
three-dimensional view of the road. For a planned fleet of so-called robotaxis,
which are commercial vehicles meant to ferry around passengers, the company is
tapping sensors from Luminar Technologies Inc.
In a presentation a the Consumer Electronics Show, Chief
Executive Amnon Shashua said on Tuesday that Mobileye's robotaxis will use
multiple Luminar units to gain 360-degree lidar, radar and camera coverage all
around the vehicle. The robotaxis rolling out in at least eight cities starting
in 2022 will each have four Luminar units, Shashua said in a subsequent
question and answer session.
But Mobileye is also developing its own lidar sensor that it
plans to start using in 2025 for cars aimed at consumers.
That 2025 consumer system will feature a single lidar unit
facing the front of the vehicle, while cameras and a new radar-based system that
Mobileye is also developing will cover the entire vehicle. Shashua said
Mobileye is developing new ways to process radar data with software that will
make radar more powerful. Radar sensors are cheaper than lidar but give a less
detailed image.
"The difference between radars and lidars in terms of
cost is an order of magnitude," he said. "No matter what people tell
you about how to reduce the cost of lidar, radar is ten times lower. We are
building lidars, so I know exactly the cost of the lidars."
In a statement, Mobileye said it plans to continue to use
Luminar lidars "as much as possible" after introducing its own lidar
sensors. Mobileye plans to offer its self-driving technology to automakers as
separate components, meaning that automakers could choose a Mobileye system but
use Luminar sensors for the lidar units.
Luminar declined to comment.