RoboSense rang in 2024 with big global announcements that demonstrate the company’s leadership and expansion in the lidar industry. From going public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and selling 150,000 sensors in Q4 2023, to announcing new products, and celebrating a very successful CES, the company is on a roll.
Gene Roe from Lidar News speaks with North America President Peipei Zhao to understand RoboSense’s newest M Platform sensors, their goals for North America, and how they stack up against the competition.
Can you please go into detail on RoboSense’s new products and their use cases?
RoboSense is a product-driven company, hyperfocused on research and development, which enables us to iterate on our proven technologies and bring our products to scale quickly. Case in point: in January 2024, at CES, we announced our newest automotive-grade M Platform sensors — the M2 and M3.
The M3, our first long-range sensor, is a big step forward as we drive mass adoption of our automotive-grade sensors in L3+ vehicles globally. The M3 is a disruptive technology; that rivals incumbent long-range 1550nm sensors by achieving a 300m range at 10% reflectivity with 940nm wavelengths. Using 940nm as opposed to 1550nm, we can deliver a more compact, cost-effective, power-efficient sensor. Additionally, the M3’s advanced 2D scanning technology enables a 0.05° x 0.05° angular resolution within the region of interest (ROI) to detect smaller objects at longer distances.
Like many of our sensors, the M3 is designed on a modular platform. By enabling upgrades through chip technologies — developed in-house — the form factor, interface, and scanning technology do not change. Why is this important to customers? They have the capability to seamlessly upgrade to the next iteration of the sensor when it becomes available without extra design changes or validation.
The M2 is a MEMs-based lidar sensor that achieves a range of up to 200m at 10% reflectivity. It evolved from the M1 and M1 Plus to deliver improved performance but unchanged form factor, easing pin-to-pin integration for OEMs and Tier 1 customers. The M Platform’s 2D scanning and a unique “gaze function” for enhanced angular resolution of 0.1° x 0.1° in its region of interest. Developed with more than 90% of the same components as the M1 Plus, the M2 leverages RoboSense’s mass manufacturing capabilities.
How does RoboSense differentiate itself from its competitors?
As we all know, the lidar market is very competitive and also offers great potential for companies to grow. According to FactMR, the global lidar market size is forecast to be nearly $3B by 2028 and grow at a 14.7% CAGR for the next 6 years. This growth matches what RoboSense is experiencing: increasing interest and adoption in automotive, robotics, and other industries such as infrastructure.
We believe that success hinges on continuous innovation, the ability to mass manufacture cutting-edge products, and deep customer relationships. And RoboSense has proven, time and time again, that we deliver in these areas. In 2023, RoboSense led the lidar industry through significant milestones: we sold over 250,000 sensors, with more than 150,000 sold in the fourth quarter alone. Additionally, we sold a record-breaking 70,000+ sensors in December.
How did we do this?
- Strong technology DNA – RoboSense has 10 years of experience in lidar, but we do not rest on our laurels. We invest heavily in R&D with top engineers from around the globe who have deep experience in lidar and our industries of focus: automotive and robotics. We empower our engineers to do what they do best: develop state-of-the-art products, including our proprietary lidar-on-chip technology that enables fast and efficient product iterations. We continue to bring components in-house, particularly our chips, which removes the reliance on external supply chains, enables us to refine our already proven products, and advances our ability to deliver at scale.
- Mass manufacturing and scalability– RoboSense’s ability to produce high-volume automotive-grade sensors offers a huge advantage over our competition. In fact, we are the first lidar company to mass-manufacture automotive-grade sensors. We have a CNAS-accredited lab and conduct stringent validation testing to ensure product quality and reliability. Our focus on automotive projects has enabled us to develop our mass manufacturing capabilities since these projects are long-term, predictable, and require the highest level of testing. Our experience in the automotive market is a major benefit that is passed down to other industries, such as robotics. By providing innovative, high-performance products to customers who are in the early stage of development, we can help them bring long-term solutions to market with more efficiency and speed.
- A strong customer portfolio – RoboSense began as an automotive-focused company. As of December 2023, RoboSense has obtained 62 vehicle model design wins and successfully assisted 12 OEMs and Tier 1 customers in starting the mass production of 24 models. RoboSense has diversified its customer base in the automotive market through its work with North American-based OEMs, Japanese OEMs, Tier 1 companies, and mobility startups. RoboSense is also expanding its reach in the non-automotive industries, including heavy-duty machinery, warehouse robotics, and infrastructure, with 2200 customers in these areas. We are committed to working with all of our customers for critical feedback that enables us to continue innovation, deliver state-of-the-art technology, and advance scalability for all of our customers.
How are you achieving your short and long-term goals for North America?
We’re very excited about what we have accomplished in the North American market and the possibilities in front of us. As you know, RoboSense was successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2024, providing the capital for global expansion and advancing our North American footprint.
Our North American headquarters, which includes our center of excellence, is in Michigan. It is important to us to be at the center of the automotive industry as we deepen partnerships and develop our technology with key OEM customer feedback. In fact, as we mentioned, we became the first and only company to achieve mass production for automotive-grade lidar. It feels fitting to note that we did so by delivering our M1 to a North American OEM, demonstrating our growing leadership here!
In addition to our Michigan HQ, we have a satellite office in California in the heart of Silicon Valley, where we work with a variety of automotive, mobility, and robotics companies. We are localizing design capabilities and leveraging our rich global manufacturing experience to advance our ability to scale and offer high-quality, cost-effective solutions here in the United States. Looking ahead, we will also be bringing multiple products and solutions to the market. These include long-range, mid-range, and short-range lidar, ground truth systems, and perception software.
Recently, we became members of Mcity, a public-private mobility research center led by the University of Michigan. This collaboration provides us the opportunity to partner with a diverse community of Mcity industry members, government partners, and academia, including Toyota, Ford, Honda, Denso, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Michigan Department of Transportation. It is an exciting time as we grow our team and expand our business!
What are your thoughts on the future of self-driving vehicles?
As intelligent vehicle technology continues to advance, so do autonomous vehicle (AV) capabilities. We are seeing autonomy becoming a significant part of the autonomous industry. We work closely with OEMs worldwide and understand first-hand how they are rapidly improving advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving features. Mass manufacturing abilities and increasingly high-quality products, such as those offered by RoboSense, make lidar technology more practical for these vehicles. Additionally, comprehensive on-road testing is improving the maturity and safety of AVs, setting the stage for their widespread adoption as a mainstream mode of transportation.
It is also important to remember there are vast non-automotive applications, including robotics, industrial, and infrastructure. For instance, we work with Bowe, whose TugBot, equipped with a Helios 16 sensor, can pull anything on four or more wheels from point A to point B. Think carts, trolleys, or wheeled vehicles used to move materials in warehouses across North America!
