Valeo says next-gen lidar can enable Level 4

TOKYO -- Valeo, a pioneer in commercializing lidar technology, is developing a more advanced version of its laser-emitting safety systems for debut in 2024 that promises a twelvefold increase in resolution, a tripling of range and a much wider viewing angle that can see details the human eye, cameras and radar cannot.

The lidar lineup, called Valeo Scala, is part of a big ramp-up Valeo sees through 2030.

The first generation, Scala 1, debuted in the Legend Hybrid EX sedan that Honda began leasing in Japan last year. Scala 2 goes into the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which received international approval for Level 3 automation last December. That system, bundled under Mercedes' Drive Pilot system, arrives this year in Germany. The company also plans to seek regulatory approval in California and Nevada.

Scala 3, the version planned for 2024, will enable autonomous emergency maneuvers at highway speeds up to 80 mph (129 kph), Valeo says.

The supplier says its third-generation Scala will pinpoint objects some 220 yards (201 meters) ahead or more. The system can track vehicles that are out of sight, and can even measure the density of raindrops to calculate proper braking distance.

Valeo makes both the hardware and software for the systems, producing the lidars at its Wemding plant in Germany where 300 engineers are working on the technology.

The company predicts that nearly a third of all new premium vehicles will be capable of Level 3 automated driving in 2030. It sees the lidar global market topping $50 billion by then.

A slew of companies are joining the technology race.

Nissan said in April that it is teaming with Luminar Technologies to develop a lidar system that will enable automated emergency driving at high speeds. Nissan wants to bring that technology to market in 2025 as part of a plan to equip virtually every new vehicle with lidar by 2030.

Bosch, Velodyne, Veoneer, Mobileye and SoftBank-backed Innoviz are also in the field. Germany's Continental supplied a lidar system for the Honda Legend, where it works in tandem with Valeo's as backups to each other.

A recent Valeo test vehicle in Tokyo demonstrated how Scala lidars and a front camera, combined with vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, could autonomously steer through crowded boulevards, thread between lumbering trucks and zipping passenger vehicles, while navigating pedestrians.

The system is Level 4-capable but operates in Level 2 mode during public testing, with a Valeo engineer always at the ready to take control.

The self-driving system had its faltering moments, usually while negotiating scenarios that require bending traffic rules — such as leaving a lane to go around idling trucks or bicyclists. And the steering and braking are not always as smooth as would be done with a human touch.

Valeo engineers say that coming versions will better address such borderline scenarios. As for dynamics, the supplier says matters of acceleration and steering are up to the manufacturer. Valeo's technology concerns itself with perceiving and interpreting the world around the vehicle.

Valeo wants to package its driver-assist systems into tailored technology sets for automakers in a plug-and-play model.

The sets will integrate the safety systems inside the vehicle and connect with the surrounding infrastructure.