FM technology enhances Blackmore's lidar

Lidar is a building block for self-driving cars, but companies continue to work through technical limitations. One of them is that lidar can detect an object, but it most often cannot determine in great detail what the object is.

Blackmore engineers have adapted a frequency modulation technology used in meteorology to create an advanced automotive lidar that can identify objects in more detail, and also determine whether the object is in motion.

The unit sends a continuous signal and measures the change in wavelength to determine the vehicle's distance to the object. That reveals whether the object is traveling toward the vehicle and at what speed.

"FM technology increases lidar's range and reliability while decreasing perception latency with point-by-point velocity measurement," said Stephen Crouch, Blackmore co-founder. "These capabilities are enabling Blackmore's customers to rethink how they use lidar across their autonomous stack."