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>Google's LIDAR technology is obsolete spinning-scanner gear, mostly from Velodyne. It's something you'd use on an experimental vehicle, not a production one. T

>Google's LIDAR technology is obsolete spinning-scanner gear, mostly from Velodyne. It's something you'd use on an experimental vehicle, not a production one. The production LIDAR systems are coming, they're all solid state, and they come from big auto parts makers like Delphi and Continental. So by the time the Uber case gets to trial, it will be moot. Google's LIDAR technology is obsolete? Didn't Google just come up with a new system that reduces the cost of a LIDAR system by 90% ? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-08/alphabet-s-waymo-cuts-cost-of-key-self-driving-sensor-by-90 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-08/alphabet-...

Fricken 9y ago
The 90% cost reduction from the original $70,000 Velodyne spinning KFC bucket is still nearly 2 orders of magnitude more expensive than the expected prices for solid state lidar, which a whole bunch of companies including Velodyne are racing to develop for the mass market, which are expected to be as little as $80, though several units will be needed to provide complete coverage around a car.
- joshuamorton 9y ago
  >which are expected to be as little as $80 I've been paying close attention, and the lowest price I've seen has been $300, and I don't believe any solid state lidar has yet to be produced at that price point, despite companies claiming they could more than a year ago.
  - Fricken 9y ago
    'expected' is the key word here. Getting an esoteric new technology from a proof of concept in the lab to the mass market doesn't happen overnight, but when it does, and after it's been through a few product cycles, it tends to get cheap.
    - EpicEng 9y ago
      Right, technology advances over time. Not sure what you're arguing here. Nothing is on the market at a lower price point, and the conversation you jumped into was in response to someone calling LIDAR obsolete. Of course something will eventually come out which is better and cheaper, but it ain't here yet.
      - Fricken 9y ago
        Velodyne has announced they'll have early production models for testing this summer, with full production before the end of the year. The lawsuit won't even be done before the technology they're fighting over is obsolete. C'mon, now. It just shows the lawsuit isn't actually about protecting some kind of invaluable trade secret, that's just a tool for punishing Levandowski and Uber for hatching this scheme.
        joshuamorton 9y ago
        That's an awful lot of assumptions in one sentence.
    - Animats 9y ago
      Flash LIDAR from ASC [1] works fine. DoD and Space-X have been using it for years. It costs $50K/unit because it has custom ICs made with a nonstandard InGaAs process produced in tiny quantities. The units are hand-made in Santa Barbara, CA. Continental, the big German auto parts company, bought ASC, and is putting the technology into mass production. Continental says they can get the price way down, and they probably can. There are also about a half dozen other flash LIDAR startups, some of which might even ship someday. [1] http://www.advancedscientificconcepts.com/products/peregrine.html http://www.advancedscientificconcepts.com/products/peregrine...

Fricken 9y ago

The 90% cost reduction from the original $70,000 Velodyne spinning KFC bucket is still nearly 2 orders of magnitude more expensive than the expected prices for solid state lidar, which a whole bunch of companies including Velodyne are racing to develop for the mass market, which are expected to be as little as $80, though several units will be needed to provide complete coverage around a car.

joshuamorton 9y ago
>which are expected to be as little as $80 I've been paying close attention, and the lowest price I've seen has been $300, and I don't believe any solid state lidar has yet to be produced at that price point, despite companies claiming they could more than a year ago.
- Fricken 9y ago
  'expected' is the key word here. Getting an esoteric new technology from a proof of concept in the lab to the mass market doesn't happen overnight, but when it does, and after it's been through a few product cycles, it tends to get cheap.
  - EpicEng 9y ago
    Right, technology advances over time. Not sure what you're arguing here. Nothing is on the market at a lower price point, and the conversation you jumped into was in response to someone calling LIDAR obsolete. Of course something will eventually come out which is better and cheaper, but it ain't here yet.
    - Fricken 9y ago
      Velodyne has announced they'll have early production models for testing this summer, with full production before the end of the year. The lawsuit won't even be done before the technology they're fighting over is obsolete. C'mon, now. It just shows the lawsuit isn't actually about protecting some kind of invaluable trade secret, that's just a tool for punishing Levandowski and Uber for hatching this scheme.
      - joshuamorton 9y ago
        That's an awful lot of assumptions in one sentence.
  - Animats 9y ago
    Flash LIDAR from ASC [1] works fine. DoD and Space-X have been using it for years. It costs $50K/unit because it has custom ICs made with a nonstandard InGaAs process produced in tiny quantities. The units are hand-made in Santa Barbara, CA. Continental, the big German auto parts company, bought ASC, and is putting the technology into mass production. Continental says they can get the price way down, and they probably can. There are also about a half dozen other flash LIDAR startups, some of which might even ship someday. [1] http://www.advancedscientificconcepts.com/products/peregrine.html http://www.advancedscientificconcepts.com/products/peregrine...