Self-driving tech company Pony.ai, backed by Toyota Motor, said on Monday its next-generation technology for robotaxis will be utilizing lidars made by Luminar Technologies.
Lidars are laser-based sensors that are an important component of many autonomous vehicle technologies and help them perceive the environment around the vehicles.
James Peng, Pony.ai CEO said the startup chose Luminar’s Iris lidar because of its performance but also as it can be integrated into the vehicle better than traditional lidars.
“It’s actually starting to blur the line between what you see as a very well-designed passenger vehicle and the monstrosities that have been on top of some of the AV test automobiles,” said Austin Russell, founder, and CEO of Luminar.
Luminar’s Iris lidar is about 10 centimeters high and Peng said four of them will be mounted on top of the car for 360 degree views. He said Pony.ai is intending for automotive-grade production of autonomous fleets in 2023 worldwide.
Pony.ai has Robotaxi services in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and Irvine, and Fremont in California with a fleet of about 200 autonomous vehicles. In 2020, the startup raised $267 million at a valuation of $5.3 billion.
