Chinese LiDAR provider RoboSense teams up with Webasto on LiDAR-enabled smart roof

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On April 23, Chinese LiDAR developer RoboSense forged a strategic partnership with German auto parts supplier Webasto at the Auto Shanghai 2021 to work together on offering Leve 3 to Level 5 mass-produced autonomous cars the world's first intelligent roof solution that integrates solid-state LiDAR.

RoboSense's booth at Auto Shanghai 2021; photo credit: RoboSense

The solution, dubbed “Roof Sensor Module”, can greatly simplify the assembly and installation of autonomous driving sensors while ensuring the safety of high-level autonomous driving functions, said RoboSense.

Under the agreement, RoboSense's solid-state LiDAR RS-LiDAR-M1, cameras and other sensors will be embedded into Webasto's panoramic sun roof, so as to endow high-level autonomous cars with more reliable environment perception ability.

RoboSense, Banma, and AutoX forming partnership; photo credit: RoboSense

At the motor show, RoboSense announced on April 19 a strategic cooperation with Banma Network Technology, an IoV (Internet of Vehicles) solution provider backed by SAIC Motor and Alibaba Group, and Chinese self-driving startup AutoX to co-build a high-level autonomous driving platform, create a new-generation smart cockpit, and deploy an intelligent operating system for complete vehicles.

Under the MoU, RoboSense will offer its LiDAR sensor solution that not only satisfies the need for high-level autonomous driving systems, but also for Banma's advanced intelligent cockpit systems, said the LiDAR manufacturer. The company added its LiDAR devices can provide accurate environmental perception data for AutoX's autonomous driving system “AI driver”, and help improve the safety of Banma’s smart automobile services and interaction.

“On the side of hardware, we will afford RoboSense with system-level support to make the latter's perception power fully utilized. In terms of algorithm, we will offer AutoX rich toolchain, as well as cloud and service systems to create safe and efficient ecological collaboration system,” said Banma's CIO Xu Qiang.

In January 2021, RoboSense and Banma co-launched an innovation center dedicated to intelligent perception technologies. Only three months later, two parties output a mass-production-ready solution based on operating systems and automotive-grade smart solid-state RS-LiDAR-M1, which meet the demands for both autonomous passenger cars and the fleet for Robotaxi service.

The high-level autonomous driving system requires the capabilities from different levels such as operating system, perception facilities, AI algorithm and data. As a developer of self-driving technologies, AutoX is independently developing a full-stack Level 4 autonomous driving solution by virtue of its intelligent algorithm and a huge amount of data about China's complex urban road conditions it collects.

Xiao Jianxiong, founder and CEO of AutoX, said the three companies will jointly form a full-fledged product ecological chain and co-develop a safe autonomous driving solution that greatly facilitates users.