Price halved for popular Lidar sensor

The ‘Lidar’ unit used as a part of many major autonomous vehicle trials – including the prominent Google project – has just been given a 50% price cut.

The VLP-16 Puck is available at the substantially lower price from Velodyne Lidar because the company says increased demand has led to greater capacity and cost reductions which can be passed on.

“We want to make 2018 a year of optimism for the autonomous vehicle, especially as the first waves of robocabs hit the road,” Velodyne Lidar founder and chief executive officer David Hall says.

“Our goal is the democratisation of transportation safety by making it accessible to every man, woman, and child in the world as quickly as possible.”

Large-scale automated manufacturing at Velodyne’s San Jose factory in California ensures the sensors are rapidly rolling off the assembly line.

Established last year, the megafactory provides a range of sensors, including the Ultra Puck VLP-32C and the VLS-128.

“Since its launch, customers have been lining up to purchase the VLP-16 and we’ve been able to meet that growing demand by expanding production and developing automated manufacturing Lidar sensors at the megafactory,” Hall says. “With this cost reduction, we’ll be able to get more Pucks into the hands of more customers, support the growing number of autonomous vehicle development fleets around the world, and start creating a better tomorrow.”

The sensors are used in a variety of industries, including automotive, freight, 3D mapping, unmanned aerial vehicles, industrial, and robotics.

Velodyne Lidar was formed in 1983 and is based in Silicon Valley.