Next generation Volvo cars to be powered by Luminar LiDAR

The partnership will deliver Volvo’s first fully self-driving technology for highways. Volvo’s next generation SPA 2 modular vehicle architecture will be available as hardware-ready for autonomous drive from production start in 2022, with the Luminar LiDAR integrated into the roof. “Autonomous drive has the potential to be one of the most lifesaving technologies in history, if introduced responsibly and safely,” says Henrik Green, chief technology officer at Volvo Cars, in a press release. “Providing our future cars with the vision they require to make safe decisions is an important step in that direction.” In addition to the Highway Pilot feature, which will enable fully autonomous highway driving, Volvo and Luminar are also exploring LiDAR’s role in improving future advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), with the potential for equipping all future SPA2-based cars with a LiDAR sensor as standard. Luminar’s technology is based on its high performance LiDAR sensors, which emit millions of pulses of laser light to accurately detect where objects are by scanning the environment in 3D, creating a temporary, real-time map without requiring internet connectivity. To enable the Highway Pilot feature, Luminar’s perception technology will be combined with autonomous drive software and the cameras, radars and back-up systems for functions such as steering, braking and battery power installed on forthcoming Volvo cars equipped for self-driving. As part of the announcement, Volvo Cars and Luminar are deepening their collaboration to jointly ensure robust industrialisation and validation of Luminar’s LiDAR technology for series production. Volvo Cars has also signed an agreement to possibly increase its minority stake in Luminar. For Silicon Valley-based Luminar, partnering with Volvo Cars represents the company’s first delivery of its technology into series production.