Velodyne
adds Mapper’s mapping and localization software to advance revolutionary
lidar-centric ADAS
Velodyne Lidar, Inc. today announced it has acquired mapping and
localization software as well as intellectual property assets from Mapper.ai.
Mapper technology will enable Velodyne to accelerate development of Vella™,
breakthrough software that establishes its directional view Velarray™ lidar
sensor. The Velarray is the first solid-state Velodyne lidar sensor that is
embeddable and fits behind a windshield, as an integral component for superior,
more effective advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
Mapper’s entire leadership and engineering teams will join Velodyne,
bolstering the company’s large and growing software development group. The new
talent will augment the current software team of engineers working on Vella
software, which will accelerate Velodyne’s production of powerful ADAS
solutions.
Velodyne’s ground-breaking solutions will allow customers to unlock advanced
capabilities for ADAS features including pedestrian and bicycle avoidance, Lane
Keep Assistance (LKA), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Adaptive Cruise
Control (ACC), and Traffic Jam Assist (TJA) and more.
“The goal in the automotive market is to make transportation safer. By
adding Vella software to our broad portfolio of lidar technology, Velodyne is
poised to revolutionize ADAS performance and safety,” says Anand Gopalan, CTO
at Velodyne. “Expanding our team to develop Vella is a giant step towards
achieving our goal of mass producing an ADAS solution that dramatically
improves roadway safety. Mapper technology gives us access to some key
algorithmic elements and accelerates our development timeline. Together, our sensors
and software will allow powerful lidar-based safety solutions to be available
on every vehicle.”
“Velodyne has both created the market for high-fidelity automotive lidar and
established itself as the leader. We have been Velodyne customers for years and
have already integrated their lidar sensors into easily deployable solutions
for scalable high-definition mapping,” said Dr. Nikhil Naikal, founder and CEO
of Mapper, who is joining Velodyne. “We are excited to use our technology to
speed up Velodyne’s lidar-centric software approach to ADAS.”
In addition to ADAS, Velodyne will incorporate Mapper technology into
lidar-centric solutions for other emerging applications, including autonomous
vehicles, last-mile delivery services, security, smart cities, smart
agriculture, robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles.