Velodyne lidar launches in Europe

09 December 2008, 5:44pm

Photo: Carnegie Mellon University Tartan Racing won the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge and takes home the $2 million first prize.

Routescene has been granted distribution rights in the UK and Republic of Ireland for the groundbreaking Velodyne HDL-64 High Definition Lidar sensor.

The invention of the Velodyne HDL-64 High Definition Lidar sensor, which uses 64 lasers contained within a fast-spinning unit to create a true threedimensional terrain map, marks a real revolution in the field of lidar
technology.

Using the HDL-64 Lidar mobile sensor, a corridor of 220m can be mapped in great detail, as the unit collects over 1.3 million points per second. Each laser is individually calibrated in the factory prior to the unit being shipped to ensure that it achieves the highest degree of accuracy.

Since its successful utilisation by five of the six autonomous vehicles to complete the world-renowned DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007, the HDL-64 Lidar sensor has had a phenomenal uptake worldwide – and not just within the robotics industry.

It is the innovative technology of the HDL-64 Lidar sensor that is responsible for the stunning imagery in Radiohead’s music video promo for House of Cards. Meanwhile, car manufacturers are employing the technology to progress automated vehicle and collision avoidance research.

The HDL-64 Lidar sensor has also been chosen by US road inspection companies to complement existing road mapping technology. Other sectors that have expressed an interest in the potential of the HDL-64 Lidar sensor technology include the video games and animation industries.

Routescene’s Technical Director, Gert Riemersma, comments: “The HDL-64 lidar sensor technology is very new in Europe and we are delighted to be able to offer our customers support and access to this innovative equipment.

“We are very excited by the range of possibilities offered by the HDL-64 Lidar sensor. Our main focus is to promote the technology within the geospatial industry, but we have already had numerous enquiries from other sectors. These are exciting times: we can now create high definition 3D models in a short space of time, an exercise that previously would have taken weeks to complete using traditional survey methods.”

Routescene

Velodyne

Geo: International