The Future of 3D Sensing and Perception: Quanergy

The future, where we can go on a road trip paying more attention to a new book or a movie than we do to the driving is not far away, in fact, it is well within reach. But we have not reached there yet! A bunch of startups has emerged to make it possible at the earliest.

Quanergy is the leading provider of solid-state LiDAR sensors and smart sensing solutions. Quanergy’s solid-state LiDAR sensor, used for autonomous vehicles, contains an integrated circuit that scans in every direction without any moving parts on both the macro and the micro scale, creating a live 3D view around a car, and detecting, classifying, and tracking objects in the scene.

Quanergy Systems, Inc. (Quanergy) was founded in 2012 and builds on decades of experience of its team in the areas of optics, photonics, optoelectronics, artificial intelligence software, and control systems. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, Quanergy offers the world’s leading LiDAR sensors and software for real-time capture and processing of 3D mapping data and object detection, tracking, and classification.

In transportation, the data is utilized to greatly improve the accuracy and reliability of onboard driver safety systems and enhance them with perception, scenario analysis, and decision making capability for active control, as well as enable autonomous driving in the future. Quanergy’s LiDARs lead in all six key commercialization areas (price, performance, reliability, size, weight, power consumption) while meeting the mass deployment requirement of being solid state.

Products

Qortex: Qortex is Quanergy’s core perception software platform which serves as the main technology framework for LiDAR sensor perception. This innovative software allows for an entirely new level of smart awareness for various applications and markets and is compatible with Quanergy’s full suite of LiDAR sensors.

Ten years in the making, Qortex is built from the ground up to be flexible, modular and scalable. The three primary functional building blocks of the platform are object detection, tracking, and classification. When integrated with Quanergy’s LiDAR sensors, Qortex provides the necessary information to make informed decisions in real-time, giving vehicles and machines one of the most advanced perceptions of their environment.

M8: The M8 is the first cost-effective long-range LiDAR sensor enabling the ubiquitous use of smart sensing in dynamic situations— made and tested for 3D mapping, security, harsh industrial environments and the most demanding applications. The M8 sensor’s small design sees by day or night, with no IR signature needed, and works in any weather. Multiple laser beams and Time-of-Flight (TOF) depth perception result in 3D point clouds for spatial sensing. With a 360° field of view, 420,000 points per second, long measurement range, high accuracy, and fine resolution, this sensor is now available at a breakthrough price.

The M8 features Multi-LiDAR Fusion™, Quanergy’s proprietary smart technology that combines multiple LiDARs into a single unified point cloud, for tracking unique objects in complex environments.

S3: The S3 solid state sensor’s housing fits in the palm of your hand for seamless integration into the design of any vehicle. The elimination of all moving parts improves performance and reliability over mechanical models. Through the interaction of three major components, the S3 generates half a million data points per second. Lasers emit collimated light pulses in a 120° arc. Light receivers detect the reflected light pulses. Signal processors calculate the Time-of-Flight (TOF) of each light pulse. With the ability to scan in every direction, the unit creates a live 3D view around a vehicle to detect, classify, and track objects in the scene.

S3-Qi: The S3-Qi is the game-changing smart sensor that sets new benchmarks in size, weight, and cost. The S3-Qi is the smallest LiDAR sensor on the market with a maximum range exceeding 100 meters. This solid-state sensor is ideal for applications requiring object detection in the long range including drones, intelligent robotics, security, smart spaces and industrial automation. In drones, payload and battery runtime benefit greatly from these compact sensors.

Sensing the Future

Quanergy is a nimble, fast-growing and a well-funded company dedicated to building next-generation 3D LiDAR sensors and related technologies. The company has partnerships with Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai-Kia, and Renault-Nissan along with other companies in the automotive industry. Quanergy’s artificial-intelligence-powered LiDAR-based sensing system is essential in more than 30 market verticals including transportation, mapping, industrial automation, and security, for improved safety, efficiency and performance.

The Catalyst behind the Sensors

Louay Eldada is CEO and Co-founder of Quanergy Systems, Inc. Dr. Eldada is a serial entrepreneur, having founded and sold three businesses to Fortune 100 companies. Quanergy is his fourth start-up. Dr. Eldada is a technical business leader with a proven track record at both small and large companies and with 70 patents, is a recognized expert in quantum optics, nanotechnology, photonic integrated circuits, advanced optoelectronics, sensors, and robotics. Prior to Quanergy, he was CSO of SunEdison, after serving as CTO of HelioVolt, which was acquired by SK Energy. Dr. Eldada was earlier CTO of DuPont Photonic Technologies, formed by the acquisition of Telephotonics where he was founding CTO. His first job was at Honeywell, where he started the Telecom Photonics business and sold it to Corning. He studied business administration at Harvard, MIT, and Stanford, and holds a Ph.D. in optical engineering from Columbia University.

“We are disrupting several industries with our unique combination of hardware and software for autonomous vehicles, advanced driver assistance systems, intrusion detection, mapping and surveying, and smart automation in various environments for improved safety, efficiency, and performance.”