Aeva, a leader in next-generation sensing and perception systems, and Daimler Truck AG, today announced that Daimler Truck has selected Aeva as the supplier of long-range and ultra-long-range LiDAR for its series autonomous commercial vehicle program.
As part of the manufacturing collaboration, Aeva will provide its latest Aeva Atlas™ automotive-grade 4D LiDAR technology to Daimler Truck and collaborate with Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck, to enable Level 4 autonomous vehicle capabilities SAE starting with the Freightliner Cascadia Class 8 truck platform.
Daimler Truck plans to integrate LiDAR sensors directly into its manufacturing process, making it easier for customers to purchase autonomous-ready trucks directly from manufacturing plants, without the need to retrofit sensors.
Torc, in turn, will sell its virtual guidance technology and mission control support services as a subscription to customers. Its guidance software will use Aeva’s perception software, built on Aeva’s instantaneous velocity data, to detect objects faster, farther and with greater precision. The multi-year collaboration will begin in the first quarter of 2024, with Aeva production starting by 2026 and Daimler Truck production starting by 2027.
LiDAR is a key technology for autonomous driving. While traditional LiDAR sensors use laser pulses to detect distances to objects, Aeva’s unique 4D Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) LiDAR technology uses a continuous low-power laser beam to simultaneously measure distance and speed of every point. This enables automated vehicles to achieve new levels of vehicle safety and automation by instantly discriminating between static and dynamic points and knowing the precise speed of dynamic objects.