Better LIDAR for Driving

Compact system could be better connected to smaller devices ...  like minidrones.

Compact, Non-Mechanical 3D LiDAR System Could Make Autonomous Driving Safer

Optica.org,  February 9, 2023

Researchers at Japan's Kyoto University have developed a palm-sized non-mechanical three-dimensional (3D) LiDAR system that combines the capabilities of conventional beam-scanning LiDAR systems and flash LiDAR to improve the safety of autonomous driving. Comprised of a dually modulated photonic-crystal laser (DM-PCSEL) and a time-of-flight camera, the system can measure the distance and automatically track the motion of poorly reflective objects. Said Kyoto University's Susumu Noda, "The DM-PCSEL integrates non-mechanical, electronically controlled beam scanning with flash illumination used in flash LiDAR to acquire a full 3D image with a single flash of light. This unique source allows us to achieve both flash and scanning illumination without any moving parts or bulky external optical elements, such as lenses and diffractive optical elements."

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Update on Autonomous Cars

Still waiting ...

Where Are The Autonomous Cars?

By Semiconductor Engineering, August 9, 2022

Level 5 vehicles, which are self-driving in all road situations, do not yet exist. Moreover, it’s not clear when that will change.

Are we there yet? Governments, consumers, and engineers alike want to know how close the automotive world is to producing a fully autonomous Level 5 vehicle.

While some experts say such vehicles could hit the road in the next few years, they're a shrinking minority. Most forecasts say a truly self-driving car is at least a decade away — and maybe much longer, because it requires disruptive technology that has yet to be invented.

At stake are billions of dollars-worth of automotive and tech industry profits, as well as an untold number of human lives. More than a million people around the world die each year in road deaths according to the World Health Organization, though the extent to which such deaths are fully attributable to driver error and could be prevented by high-tech cars is up for debate. Still, the European Union is reportedly planning to approve the sale of Level 4 vehicles — those that are fully autonomous within a specific geographic area or set of circumstances — as part of its attempt to reach zero road deaths by 2050.

There are currently no such cars on the market. Level 4 technology is employed in Waymo ridesharing, a taxi service by the General Motors subsidiary Cruise, and a handful of other projects, but not in consumer vehicles. Level 3, which requires the driver to take over when the system encounters a problem, currently can be found in select Mercedes models in Germany and a small number of Honda Legends in Japan. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in Teslas and other high-tech cars available to consumers typically are classified as Level 2.

From semiconductor Engineering

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Wal-Mart Testing Self Driving Cars with Ford

Unexpected thing.  With a delivery angle too.. 

Walmart to Test Self-Driving Cars with Ford, Argo AI

CNBC, Michael Wayland, September 15, 2021

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is extending its self-driving vehicle program to include Ford Motor and Ford/Volkswagen-backed autonomous car startup Argo AI, in order to trial autonomous deliveries in Miami, the District of Columbia, and Austin, TX. Customers can place order groceries and other items online for door-to-door autonomous delivery under the program. Walmart's Tom Ward said, "This collaboration will further our mission to get products to the homes of our customers with unparalleled speed and ease, and in turn, will continue to pave the way for autonomous delivery." An Argo AI spokesperson said the partners initially will deploy a small fleet of autonomous delivery vehicles in each of the three trial cities, which will expand over time. Argo AI's Bryan Salesky said the deployments will demonstrate "the potential for autonomous vehicle delivery services at scale."