CES 2022: Ibeo showcases solid-state lidar just before series production

The Hamburg-based Lidar sensor specialist Ibeo Automotive Systems has announced a series of technological solutions around autonomous mobility for CES in Las Vegas. The focus will be on both hardware and software for the new Solid-State Lidar sensor ibeoNEXT. This sensor is said to be particularly compact, operates without moving parts, and is expected to be ready for series production by the end of 2022. The company also believes it is at the forefront of the autonomous driving topic with this development.

As a complete system provider, the company develops Lidar sensor hardware, as well as perception and validation software components all in-house, thus enabling full control over product development and manufacturing within the company network, the provider promotes its approach. A production line for the international market has already been set up in France, and the sensor and the production facilities and processes meet all the automotive industry's requirements, according to the manufacturer. Combined with the manufacturing of shareholder ZF, the company claims to have full control over all processes.

"With this production maturity, we are probably in a unique position at this point in time that has been successfully prepared over the past months,” proudly believes Ibeo founder and CEO Dr. Ulrich Lages.

He further points to efficiency advantages in production costs, precision, and speed. Lages emphasizes that at CES, they consciously take a different approach and present not only prototypes. He also sees a simplification in manufacturing compared to other so-called MEMS or mechanical sensors. Furthermore, reliability and compactness are expected to improve.

Claiming a leading position in Lidar systems worldwide

Since the company's founding in the late 1990s, the provider claims to have evolved from a Hamburg-based technology start-up to a global innovation leader in all areas of Lidar technology. Over 400 employees are currently working on the development of Lidar systems at locations in Hamburg, Eindhoven (Netherlands), and Detroit (USA). Shareholders and partner companies ZF and AAC Technologies form a solid network to support mass production. At CES, the Hamburg-based company plans to demonstrate the sensor's performance with live point cloud data to show how the system detects the surrounding environment of the vehicle.