What is lidar and how does lidar work?

　　1. What is Lidar?

　　Various car companies are emphasizing lidar, so we must first understand, what is lidar?

　　LIDAR – Lidar, is a sensor, known as the “eye of a robot”, is an important sensor integrating laser, GPS positioning and inertial measurement devices. The method that returns the required time to measure distance is similar in principle to radar, except that lasers are used instead of radio waves. It can be said that lidar is one of the important hardware configurations to help cars achieve high-level intelligent assisted driving functions.

2. How does lidar work?

　　Next, let’s talk about how lidar works.

　　First of all, we need to make it clear that lidar does not operate independently, and generally consists of three main modules: laser transmitter, receiver, and inertial positioning and navigation. When the lidar is working, it will emit laser light. After encountering an object, the laser light will be refracted back and received by the CMOS sensor, thereby measuring the distance from the body to the obstacle. From a principle point of view, as long as you need to know the speed of light and the time from emission to CMOS perception, you can measure the distance of the obstacle. Combined with real-time GPS, inertial navigation information and calculation of the angle of the laser radar, the system can get the distance of the object ahead. Coordinate bearing and distance information.

　　Next, if a lidar can emit multiple lasers at a set angle in the same space, it can obtain multiple reflected signals based on obstacles. Combined with the time range, laser scanning angle, GPS position and INS information, after data processing, these information will be combined with x, y, z coordinates to become a three-dimensional signal with distance information, spatial position information, etc. Combining the algorithms, the system can obtain various related parameters such as lines, surfaces, and volumes, thereby establishing a three-dimensional point cloud map and drawing an environmental map, which can become the “eyes” of the car.

3. Lidar Industry Chain

　　1) Transmitter chip : 905nm EEL chip Osram’s dominance is difficult to change, but after VCSEL fills the power short board through the multi-junction process, because of its low cost and low temperature drift characteristics, it will gradually realize the replacement of EEL, the domestic chip Changguang Huaxin , Zonghui Xinguang ushered in development opportunities.

　　2) Receiver: As the 905nm route needs to increase the detection distance, it is expected that SiPM and SPAD will become a major trend. 1550nm will continue to use APD, and the threshold for related products is relatively high. Currently, it is mainly monopolized by Sony, Hamamatsu and ON Semiconductor. The 1550nm core Citrix and 905nm Nanjing Core Vision and Lingming Photonics are expected to take the lead in breaking through.

　　3) Calibration end: The semiconductor laser has a small resonator cavity and poor spot quality. In order to meet the lidar standard, the fast and slow axes need to be aligned for optical calibration, and the line light source solution needs to be homogenized. The value of a single lidar is hundreds of yuan.

　　4) TEC: Since Osram has solved the temperature drift of EEL, VCSEL naturally has low temperature drift characteristics, so lidar no longer needs TEC.

　　5) Scanning end: The main barrier of the rotating mirror is timing control, and the MEMS process is relatively difficult. Xijing Technology is the first to achieve mass production.

4. The sea of ​​stars under the replacement of domestic products

　　The localization of lidar is not only to achieve domestic substitution and technological independence to prevent Western countries from getting stuck, but also an important factor is to reduce costs.

　　Affordable price is an inescapable topic, however, the price of lidar is not low, the cost of installing a single lidar device in a car is about 10,000 US dollars.

　　The high cost of lidar has always been its lingering shadow, especially for more advanced lidar solutions, the biggest constraint is mainly cost; lidar is considered an expensive technology by the industry, and Tesla bluntly stated that Criticizing lidar is expensive.

　　Lidar manufacturers are always looking to reduce costs, and as the technology evolves, their ideals are gradually becoming a reality. The second-generation intelligent zoom lidar not only has superior performance, but also reduces the cost by two-thirds compared to the first generation, and is smaller in size. According to industry forecasts, by 2025, the average price of foreign advanced lidar systems may reach about $700 each.

　　The current development trend of the lidar industry is that the technical level is becoming more and more mature day by day, and the localization is gradually approaching. The localization of LiDAR has gone through several stages. First, it was dominated by foreign companies. Later, domestic companies started and increased their weight. Now, the dominance is gradually moving closer to domestic companies.

　　In recent years, the wave of autonomous driving has emerged, and local lidar manufacturers have gradually entered the market. Domestic industrial-grade lidar products have gradually become popular. In domestic smart electric vehicles, local lidar companies have appeared one after another.

　　According to information, there should be 20 or 30 domestic radar companies, such as Sagitar Juchuang, Hesai Technology, Beike Tianhui, Leishen Intelligence, etc., as well as electronic hardware giants such as DJI and Huawei, as well as traditional auto parts giants.

　　At present, the price advantages of lidar products launched by Chinese manufacturers such as Hesai, DJI, and Sagitar Juchuang are obvious, breaking the leading position of developed countries such as the United States in this field. There are also companies such as Focuslight Technology, Han’s Laser, Guangku Technology, Luowei Technology, Hesai Technology, Zhongji Innolight, Kongwei Laser, and Juxing Technology. Process and manufacturing experience drives innovation in lidar.

　　At present, it can be divided into two schools, one is developing mechanical lidar, and the other is directly locking solid-state lidar products. In the field of high-speed autonomous driving, Hesai has a relatively high market share; in the field of low-speed autonomous driving, Sagitar Juchuang is the main manufacturer.

　　From the perspective of the upstream and downstream of the entire industrial chain, my country has cultivated a number of powerful enterprises and formed a basically complete industrial chain. After years of persistent investment and accumulation of experience, domestic radar companies have made in-depth efforts in their respective market segments, presenting a market pattern of blooming flowers.

　　Mass production is an important indicator of maturity. With the entry into mass production, the price is also falling sharply. DJI announced in August 2020 that it has achieved mass production and supply of automotive autonomous driving lidar, and the price has dropped to the thousand yuan level. ; And Huawei, in 2016 to conduct pre-research on lidar technology, to do prototype verification in 2017, and to achieve mass production in 2020.

　　Compared with imported radars, domestic companies have advantages in terms of timeliness of supply, customization of functions, service cooperation and rationality of channels.

　　The procurement cost of imported lidar is relatively high. Therefore, the low cost of domestic lidar is the key to occupying the market and an important driving force for domestic replacement. Of course, many practical problems such as cost reduction space and mass production maturity are still in China. Businesses still have to face many challenges.

　　Since its birth, the lidar industry has shown the outstanding characteristics of high technical level. As an emerging technology with high popularity in recent years, lidar technology actually has great technical barriers. Technology is not only a challenge for companies that want to enter the market, but also a challenge for companies that have been in it for many years.

　　At present, for domestic substitution, because lidar chips, especially the components required for signal processing, mainly rely on imports, this has raised the production cost of domestic lidars to a certain extent. The stuck neck project is going all out to tackle the problem.

　　In addition to their own technical factors, domestic radar companies also need to cultivate comprehensive capabilities, including technology research and development systems, stable supply chains and mass production capabilities, especially after-sales quality assurance capabilities.

　　Under the opportunity of “Made in China 2025″, domestic manufacturers have been catching up in recent years and have made many breakthroughs. At present, localization is in a period when opportunities and challenges are particularly clear, and it is the foundation stage of lidar import substitution.

Fourth, landing application is the last word

　　It is no exaggeration to say that the application of lidar has ushered in a rising period, and its main business mainly comes from four major markets, namely industrial automation, intelligent infrastructure, robots and automobiles.

　　There is a strong momentum in the field of autonomous driving, and the automotive lidar market will benefit from the penetration of high-level autonomous driving and maintain rapid growth. Many car companies have adopted lidar solutions, taking the first step towards L3 and L4 autonomous driving.

　　2022 is becoming the transition window from L2 to L3/L4. As the core key sensor of autonomous driving technology, lidar has played an increasingly important role in related fields in recent years. It is expected that from 2023, the vehicle lidar track will enter a continuous Rapid growth period.

　　According to a securities research report, in 2022, China’s passenger car lidar installations will exceed 80,000 units. It is expected that the lidar market space in my country’s passenger car field will reach 26.1 billion yuan in 2025 and 98 billion yuan by 2030. Vehicle lidar has entered a period of explosive demand, and the market prospect is very broad.

　　Unmanned is a trend in recent years, and unmanned is inseparable from the eyes of wisdom – the navigation system. Laser navigation is relatively mature in technology and product landing, and has accurate ranging, and can operate stably in most environments, especially in the dark night. It can also maintain accurate detection. It is currently the most stable and mainstream positioning and navigation method. In short, in terms of application, the principle of laser navigation is simple and the technology is mature.

　　Unmanned, it has penetrated into the fields of construction, mining, risk elimination, service, agriculture, space exploration and military applications. Lidar has become a common navigation method in this environment.

　　Beginning in 2019, more and more domestic radars have been applied in the actual projects of customers, rather than just prototype testing in the workshop. 2019 is a crucial watershed for domestic lidar companies. Market applications have gradually entered into actual project cases, expanding wider application scenarios and scope, seeking diversified markets, and becoming a common choice for companies. .

　　The application of lidar is gradually widespread, including the driverless industry, the service robot industry, the Internet of Vehicles industry, the intelligent transportation, and the smart city. The combination of lidar and drones can also draw maps of oceans, ice caps, and forests.

　　Unmanned is the most important feature of smart logistics. In the transportation and distribution of smart logistics, a large number of unmanned technologies will be applied – mobile logistics robots and unmanned express vehicles, the main core component of which is lidar.

　　In the field of smart logistics, the application scope of lidar is also increasing day by day. Whether it is from handling to warehousing or logistics, lidar can be fully covered and extended to smart ports, smart transportation, smart security, smart services, and urban smart governance.

　　In logistics scenarios such as ports, lidar can ensure the accuracy of cargo capture and reduce the difficulty of personnel operations. In terms of transportation, lidar can assist in the detection of high-speed toll gates and ensure that passing vehicles meet the requirements. In terms of security, lidar can become the eyes of various security monitoring equipment.

　　In the field of industrial manufacturing, the value of lidar is constantly highlighted. In the production line, it can release the role of material monitoring and ensure automatic operation.

　　Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is an optical remote sensing technology that is increasingly emerging as a cost-effective alternative to traditional surveying techniques such as photogrammetry. In recent years, lidar and drones have often appeared in various application fields in the form of a combined fist, often producing the effect of 1+1>2.

　　The technical route of lidar is constantly improving. There is no general lidar architecture that can meet the needs of all different applications. Many different applications have different form factors, fields of view, range resolution, power consumption and cost. Require.

　　Lidar has its advantages, but how to maximize the advantages requires technical support. Intelligent zoom lidar can construct three-dimensional stereo images, perfectly solving extreme scenarios such as backlighting of sight lines and difficulty in identifying irregular objects. With the development of technology, lidar will play its part in many unexpected application fields, bringing us more surprises.

　　In today’s era when cost is king, high-priced radars have never been the choice of the mainstream market. Especially in the application of L3 autonomous driving, the high cost of foreign radars is still the biggest obstacle to its implementation. It is imperative to realize import substitution for domestic radars.

　　Lidar has always been a representative of the development and application of emerging technologies. Whether the technology is mature or not is related to its application and mass production promotion. Mature technology is not only available, but also in line with economic costs, adapt to different scenarios, and be safe enough.

　　After several years of technology accumulation, new lidar products have been continuously launched, and with the advancement of technology, their applications have become increasingly broad. The application scenarios are also increasing, and some products have been exported to major markets in Europe and the United States.

　　Of course, lidar companies also face the following risks: uncertainty in demand, long ramp-up time for adopters to scale up mass production, and longer time for lidar to generate actual revenue as a supplier.

　　Domestic companies that have accumulated in the field of lidar for many years will work deeply in their respective market segments, but if they want to occupy more market shares, they must combine their own technology accumulation, dig deep into core technologies, and develop and improve products. Quality and stability work hard.