Emesent’s AL2 for Hovermap Leverages Velodyne Lidar to Access the Inaccessible
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Friday 31 July 2020 [ AETOS Wire ]
(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Velodyne Lidar, Inc. today
announced that Emesent’s newly introduced Autonomy Level 2 (AL2)
technology for Hovermap uses Velodyne lidar sensors to provide real-time
perception and high-quality, accurate 3D data. Hovermap is a
plug-and-play mapping and autonomy payload for industrial drones that
enables autonomous flight in areas beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS)
and without GPS connectivity.
The AL2 technology uses Velodyne’s Puck LITE lidar
as the primary perception and mapping sensor. This allows autonomous
exploration, navigation and lidar mapping in challenging inaccessible
environments such as mines, civil construction works, telecommunications
infrastructure and disaster response environments. As part of Emesent’s
simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) based autonomy stack, AL2
powers drones to fly beyond communications range, self-navigate and
avoid obstacles including thin wires and branches.
AL2
can be operated from take-off to landing by setting smart waypoints in a
live 3D map streamed to a tablet. This allows operators to remain a
safe distance from hazardous environments such as brows, stope edges,
confined spaces and heights. The rich data from the Puck LITE sensor
enables companies to gain better data insights on how to make mines and
other environments safe.
“The
Velodyne Puck LITE is simply a sensational sensor for creating
drone-based mapping and autonomy solutions because of its compact size,
light weight and performance – all critical for drone-mounted systems,”
said Dr. Stefan Hrabar, Emesent CEO. “The sensor was an essential
ingredient in helping us to create game-changing new technology that can
obtain vital data in challenging environments in real time without
risking the machine or operator safety.”
Emesent is an Automated with Velodyne
partner at the forefront of GPS-denied drone autonomy. The company
recently placed fourth in the urban circuit of the DARPA Subterranean
(“SubT”) Challenge together with the Robotics and Autonomous Systems
Group at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Organization (CSIRO) and Georgia Institute of Technology.
“Emesent’s
innovative use of Velodyne’s lidar sensors is helping to deliver
valuable data and insights that were previously impossible to access,”
said Jon Barad, Vice President of Business Development, Velodyne Lidar.
“In addition to what they provide today to the mining, infrastructure,
survey and mapping industries, it is exciting to consider how this
innovation will help usher in a new era of autonomous drone operation
across a variety of other industries.”
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
currently has restrictions on drones flying beyond the visual line of
sight. Emesent’s technology innovation could potentially usher in a new
era of safe, autonomous drone flight – not only in mines but everywhere.
Velodyne
Puck LITE sensors deliver a high-resolution image to measure and
analyze indoor and outdoor environments. Designed for applications that
require a sensor with a low weight and compact size, the Puck LITE
delivers outstanding resolution and performance for mobile and UAV/drone
applications. It provides a full 360-degree environmental view to
deliver real-time 3D data.
About Velodyne Lidar
Velodyne
provides smart, powerful lidar solutions for autonomy and driver
assistance. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Velodyne is known
worldwide for its portfolio of breakthrough lidar sensor technologies.
Velodyne’s founder, David Hall, invented real-time surround view lidar
systems in 2005 as part of Velodyne Acoustics. Mr. Hall’s invention
revolutionized perception and autonomy for automotive, new mobility,
mapping, robotics, and security. Velodyne’s high-performance product
line includes a broad range of sensing solutions, including the
cost-effective Puck™, the versatile Ultra Puck™, the autonomy-advancing
Alpha Prime™, the ADAS-optimized Velarray™, and the groundbreaking
software for driver assistance, Vella™.
About Emesent
Emesent
is a world-leader in drone autonomy, lidar mapping and data analytics.
Founded in 2018, Emesent has since built a reputation for delivering
high-quality data capture in the mining, infrastructure, survey and
mapping industries. Their flagship product, Hovermap, is a smart mobile
scanning unit that combines advanced collision avoidance and autonomous
flight technologies to map hazardous and GPS-denied environments.
Hovermap is uniquely versatile, it can be handheld, drone- or
vehicle-mounted to map challenging, inaccessible areas. With a wide
range of applications, Hovermap is being used by customers around the
world.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200730005182/en/
Contacts
Landis Communications Inc.
Sean Dowdall
(415) 286-7121
velodyne@landispr.com
