Automotive Lidar Technology Is Rapidly Changing

• Published date: 15 September 2022
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Technology, Patent, New Technology
• Law Firm: Cipher
• Author: Francesca Levoir

'If you blink you'll miss it'. Innovation in automotive lidar is moving quickly, as can be seen back in 2018, lidar players were so focused on their own technology and incremental enhancements, that they missed a transformative technical change due to new technology.

A lower cost solution emerged, solid state lidar which was pursued by young companies such as Quanergy and Luminar. Will you be blindsided or prosper?

Lidar innovation is constantly evolving and changing. New technologies and players are entering the space around the globe, so keeping up with these trends is key.

Global Prior Art, using Cipher classified patent data has found the following:

• The big players, such as Bosch and Ouster, are shifting their innovation focus in key areas - so who are the new entrants and what are the hot areas of innovation?
• Velodyne - the core lidar vendor has changed its focus - from rotating lidar platforms to rotating mirror components.
• Chinese companies have ramped up patent filings covering recent lidar technology developments

Bruce Rubinger, CEO of GPA says:

"We have been working with innovators in lidar and they are genuinely excited about the pace of change in this industry and concerned about being able to follow the complex technology and IP space. That is why we have proposed a vigorous study to provide accurate and transparent information and insight to participants".

The corporate landscape is also changing and small innovators are being snapped up by bigger players, investors, and suppliers.

With over 200 companies, and...