Idriverplus partners Velodyne Lidar for mass production of autonomous vehicles

Idriverplus, a Chinese company that provides multi-functional solutions for autonomous driving systems has partnered with Velodyne Lidar for procuring Puck sensors over three years for the mass production of its commercial autonomous vehicles, including street cleaners, passenger cars and logistics vehicles.

Idriverplus is currently into the commercial deployment of more than 1,000 units of unmanned, electric street cleaning vehicles called WOXIAOBAI. Each vehicle comes with two Puck sensors for security and perception. These vehicles are being used to clean and disinfect hospital areas as part of efforts to combat the coronavirus epidemic in China. Idriverplus is also developing two autonomous car solutions; an SAE Level 4 vehicle designed to drive in closed parks and some public roads, and an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) for automatic parking (AVP) and highway follow-up (HWP). The company’s WOBIDA product applies self-driving technology to the logistics industry, providing a safer and better last-mile delivery experience.

Idriverplus claims that it was the first company in China to mass produce driverless products and receive orders for 1,000 driverless vehicles. The company’s founders all come from Tsinghua University, China’s leading research university. Velodyne Puck sensors provide computer perception data that allows real-time object and free space detection needed for safe navigation and reliable operation. The Puck is a small, compact lidar sensor that delivers 100 meters range. Its reliability, power-efficiency and surround view make it an ideal solution for affordable low speed autonomy applications.

Dr Zhang Dezhao, CEO, Idriverplus said, “We selected Velodyne sensors because of the outstanding lidar quality and mass production scale they provide. Our successful experience working with Velodyne lidar shows it delivers cutting-edge performance. Teaming with Velodyne will help us achieve our goal of high-volume manufacturing of commercial autonomous vehicles.”

Wei Weng, executive director of Asia, Velodyne Lidar said, “Idriverplus’s autonomous vehicles demonstrate how Velodyne lidar sensors address the production and scalability requirements needed for mass deployments. We have confidence in the China market and are honored to work with companies like Idriverplus to help them be successful in autonomous vehicle deployment.”