LiDAR Applications in Downstream Industries

LiDAR applications have a wide range of downstream industries such as automotive, industrial, etc. The vigorous development of downstream industries will continue to drive the growth of the LiDAR applications and LiDAR-related industry. According to Yola’s calculations, the global LiDAR application market in 2019 is about 1.6 billion U.S. dollars and is expected to reach 3.8 billion U.S. dollars by 2025, with a compound growth rate of 19%. Among them, the market size of the ADAS field will grow from US$19 million to US$1.7 billion, with a compound growth rate of 114%.

1) LiDAR application in autonomous driving industry:

LiDAR application has a promising market prospect in the field of autonomous driving. In traditional travel services, labor costs account for more than 60% of total operating costs. Unmanned travel services can eliminate this cost, and autonomous driving technology can reduce vehicle idle time, so unmanned travel services have a wide range of commercial value and profitability space compared to traditional travel services. Currently, autonomous driving projects around the world continue to make progress. According to the ReportLinker study, it is estimated that the number of L4/L5 unmanned vehicles including passenger cars and trucks will reach 535,000 in 2025. 

With the gradual establishment of the driverless business model, the global LiDAR application market in this field will also achieve rapid growth. The advanced driver assistance market mainly serves OEMs and Tier1 companies. Based on that LiDAR meets the performance requirements, cost and vehicle regulations are the focus of mass-produced vehicle projects. Valeo’s SCALA is the world’s first LiDAR product that has been approved by the market and has been mass-produced. It is installed in Audi’s flagship model AudiA8. 

2) LiDAR application in (ADAS) Advanced assisted driving industry:

The revision of traffic laws around the world is bringing opportunities for the commercialization of L3 autonomous driving technology. The L3-assisted driving mass-produced car project around the world is currently under rapid development. As the cost of LiDAR drops to hundreds of dollars and meets the requirements of vehicle regulations, more and more advanced assisted driving mass production projects will achieve SOP in the future. According to Yole’s research report, the penetration rate of the global passenger car market L3 Level autonomous driving will reach about 6% by 2025, that is, nearly 6 million new cars will be equipped with LiDAR every year. The market scale of LiDAR application in the field of advanced assisted driving will maintain rapid growth in the next five years.

Internet of Vehicles industry:

5G-based V2X can greatly improve driving safety, improve transportation system operation efficiency, and reduce vehicle equipment costs, to further promote the rapid implementation of autonomous driving. Cities in developing and developed countries have started the construction and test of smart cities and smart transportation. LiDAR application combined with intelligent algorithms can provide a high-precision location, shape, posture, and other information, and achieve overall and precise control of traffic conditions, which is crucial to the realization of V2X. With the implementation of smart cities and smart transportation projects, the demand for LiDAR applications on the Internet of Vehicles market will show steady growth in the future.

From a global perspective, China’s connected vehicles (ICVs) are developing fast and more strategically. In February 2020, 11 ministries and commissions including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly issued the Strategy of Development and Innovation of Intelligence Car, proposing that by 2025, the construction of intelligent transportation systems and smart city-related facilities will make positive progress, and LTE-V2X networks will achieve regional coverage, a new generation of LTE-V2X networks is gradually being applied in some cities and highways, and the high-precision time-space reference service network achieves full coverage. In March 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Notice on Organizing and Implementing New Infrastructure Construction Projects (Broadband Networks and 5G) in 2020, listing the “Large-scale Verification and Application of 5G-based V2X Internet of Vehicles” as one of the seven 5G innovative application upgrading projects. Compared with single-vehicle intelligence, 5G-based V2X can greatly improve driving safety, improve the efficiency of transportation systems, and reduce the cost of onboard equipment, to promote the rapid implementation of unmanned driving.

3) LiDAR application in service robots:

The main LiDAR application areas of service robots include unmanned delivery, unmanned cleaning, unmanned storage, unmanned inspection, etc. With the powerful built-in perception system and control system, the service robot can complete a variety of unmanned operations, to reduce dependence on manpower and improve production efficiency. Service robots can not only deliver goods from logistics centers to consumers’ homes, but also provide a large number of new “last mile” services to provide convenience, safety, and health for the entire service community. In the face of the COVID-19 in 2020, unmanned delivery can avoid unnecessary contact between people, reduce the probability of cross-infection, and build a healthy line of defense for facilitating community life and preventing the spread of the epidemic. At present, more and more e-commerce, consumer service giants, and start-up companies are investing in the development of service robots. With the maturity of intelligent service robot technology, its business scope and radiation radius will continue to increase. The advantages of unmanned delivery, unmanned cleaning, unmanned inspection robots will be revealed in terms of operating cost reduction and service efficiency improvement, and the increasing demand for such equipment.

Non-contact medical supplies distribution trolley equipped with LiDAR:

About Neuvition

Founded in 2016, Neuvition is the first professional manufacturer focusing on solid-state HD LiDAR based on the MEMS technology route. To bring better vision for smarter future, our LiDAR mainly provides smart solutions in the fields of autonomous driving, ADAS, V2X/CVIS, railway ADAS, 3D mapping, etc., to enable machines or vehicles to have perception capability and to accelerate the speed of automation processes.

Our technologies cover the world’s leading high-definition solid-state MEMS LiDAR, LiDAR data processing algorithm and software, AI, and machine learning in the application of LiDAR and other LiDAR-based software solutions. Neuvition is one of the leading companies to commercialize solid-state 3D HD video LiDARs for automated market needs with performance and parameters superior to other competitors.