Stellantis Ventures announced that it has invested in SteerLight, a company developing a new generation of LiDAR technology. The goal is to improve advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving, to be applied to automotive group vehicles.
Stellantis invests in SteerLight, developing LiDAR technology
“The main goal in ADAS and autonomous driving systems is to develop features for all our vehicles. We have already started this process by using more sensors and cameras in most of our units. Currently, this large volume of sensors has an impact on the design of our cars,” explained Vice President Vincent Abadie.
Abadie indicated that in looking for more compact, cost-effective, and better-performing solutions for the future, they found that “the technology proposed by Steerlight advances in this direction”. Specifically, Stellantis explained that by using silicon photonics technology, which combines a universal semiconductor material with the speed of light, the SteerLight LiDAR detects its surroundings with greater resolution and accuracy, and at a lower mass production cost than other systems currently available on the market.
According to Stellantis, this technology has the potential to offer drivers of the Group’s future vehicles improved performance in a variety of ADAS systems, including automated driving. “A central aspect of our Dare Forward 2030 initiatives is to identify innovative technologies that provide substantial value to our customers,” Stellantis director of engineering and technology Ned Curic said in a note.
Curic added that improvements in automated driving continue to be a top priority for the automotive group. “SteerLight’s work can enable improved and widespread ADAS applications.” SteerLight CEO François Simoens indicated that his company sees this investment by Stellantis Ventures as a good opportunity to unlock their technology and offer it in different mobility contexts.
Stellantis Ventures said that the development they are working on overcomes the current challenges of LiDAR technology for vehicles, especially the size of the components and their high cost. The FMCW technology used provides highly accurate depth and velocity data while resisting interference from the environment and other users. Stellantis Ventures, since its creation in 2022, has invested in 12 new companies and a mobility fund.