Gates-backed Lumotive nearing launch of high-performance LiDAR system

The company is also seeking its next round of funding, according to TechCrunch. The Seattle-based company’s first round of funding in 2017 was supplied by Bill Gates and Innovative Ventures (IV). According to the company website, the beam-steering technology leverages semiconductor chips designed using metamaterials principles which outfits the LiDAR system with a previously unmatched combination of high-performance and low-cost. The secret ingredient is reported to be Lumotive’s patented Liquid Crystal Metasurfaces (LCM) and silicon fabrication to achieve maximum manufacturing efficiency, as well as range, resolution and frame rate. Lumotive has specially engineered the surfaces of the metamaterials with microscopic, tunable antennas embedded in them, allowing it to function as a single device. Lumotive Co-founder and CEO Dr. William Colleran said, “Lumotive’s solution is ideal for automakers and Tier-1s seeking safer yet more cost-effective perception solutions for their vehicles. Our LiDAR sensors benefit tremendously from the unique attributes of beam-steering LCMs which simultaneously offer large optical aperture, wide field-of-view and fast scanning while having no moving parts. LCMs deliver the combination of performance and commercial viability that will finally eliminate barriers to adoption of LiDAR for both ADAS and autonomous vehicles.”