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CARIAD SE Selects Innoviz as Direct LiDAR Supplier for the Segment of Automated Vehicles Within the Volkswagen Brands
August 02 2022
https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NASDAQ/innoviz-technologies-INVZ/stock-news/88733675/cariad-se-selects-innoviz-as-direct-lidar-supplier
Innoviz will provide InnovizTwo LiDAR sensors and perception software
Summary
- LiDARs are a critical element of advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles (AVs). CARIAD selected Innoviz to be its supplier and deliverer of advanced ADAS features for the segment of automated vehicles within the Volkswagen brands.
- CARIAD selected the InnovizTwo next-generation LiDAR sensor and perception software.
- This is Innoviz's third design win with a major automaker and first deal as a Tier-1 supplier.
TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Innoviz Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: INVZ) (the "Company" or "Innoviz") announced today that its recent design win is with CARIAD SE.
"We are thrilled to work with the CARIAD team and be a supplier of LiDAR sensors and perception software to support safe mobility for vehicles launching from the middle of the decade," said Innoviz CEO and Co-Founder, Omer Keilaf. "CARIAD is a leading player in the transformation of the whole automotive space. We are proud to be part of their mission."
With its third design win, Innoviz's forward-looking order book was updated to $6.6 billion.
Footage of InnovizTwo LiDAR performance can be found here:
Japan Post Unveils Cutting-Edge Initiative to Digitize Roads for Digital Maps Using Innoviz LiDAR
The Initiative Enables Next-Generation Services Including Autonomous
July 20 2022
https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NASDAQ/innoviz-technologies-INVZ/stock-news/88638276/japan-post-unveils-cutting-edge-initiative-to-digi
TEL AVIV, Israel and TOKYO, July 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Innoviz Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: INVZ) (the "Company" or "Innoviz"), a leading provider of high-performance, automotive-grade LiDAR sensors and perception software, today announced that Japan Post, a special private company under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, offering postal and logistics services as well as banking and life & non-life insurance agency services, aims to construct digital maps with Innoviz's high-performance InnovizOne LiDAR sensor, paving the way for next-generation smart city services such as autonomous driving and unmanned delivery.
InnovizOne on Japan Post Vehicles, June 2022
Japan Post announced their plans to install InnovizOne LiDAR sensors on their postal delivery cars on July 20, 2022, during Scrum Ventures' SmartCityX Conference in San Francisco, which brought together more than 150 best-in-class founders, VCs, and stage-agnostic startups from across the globe. The InnovizOne equipped delivery vehicles will generate detailed digital maps that gather information such as changes in roads and buildings along delivery routes. These detailed maps will serve as foundational data to enable next-generation services for Japan's residents, such as automated driving and more.
The smart cities market is expanding rapidly, and Autonomous on-road delivery vehicles are a near-term priority for cities that are increasingly looking for efficient ways to move people and goods. The Japanese market for smart city technologies is expected to grow from nearly $45 million USD in 2021 to over $93 million USD by 2027.
"Cities are evolving and re-emerging stronger than ever from the pandemic," said Michael Proman, Managing Director at Scrum Ventures and SmartCityX. "The collaborations between our Japanese partners and participating stage-agnostic startups transcend multiple smart city categories and represent some of the most thoughtful and innovative solutions being deployed around the world. We're thrilled to help further these efforts."
"We greatly appreciate such an innovative approach full of possibilities to solve local issues across the country using the solution from Innoviz," said Executive Officer at Japan Post, Yoshihiro Gomi. "We hope that the combination of our assets and InnovizOne LiDAR sensor will lead to the creation of a new business."
"Our innovative collaboration with Japan Post highlights the versatility of the Innoviz LiDAR and this is another example of new ways to use LiDAR in smart cities," said VP Asia at Innoviz Technologies, David Oberman. "We are grateful for the resources and support from Scrum Ventures to accelerate deployment of our InnovizOne LiDAR sensors for constructing digital maps and bringing value to Japan residents."
Scrum Ventures' SmartCityX program aims to explore new innovations that can unlock new value through partnership with companies, local governments, and startups. Thirteen Japanese corporations representing a variety of industries took part in this year's event. InnovizOne was selected by Japan Post due to its ability to generate precise, high-resolution 3D point cloud data required for building the digital map. Following a successful demonstration last month, the two companies have begun to verify the needs and use of Japan Post data.
About Japan Post
Japan Post is a company that operates postal services and post offices in Japan, aiming to create new value in cooperation with companies outside the Japan Post Group by combining its post offices and delivery networks, one of its greatest strengths, with digital technologies to assist customers in cherishing safe, secure, and enriched lives in their communities.
About Innoviz Technologies
Innoviz is a global leader in LiDAR technology, working towards a future with safe autonomous vehicles on the world's roads. Innoviz's LiDAR and perception software "see" better than a human driver and reduce the possibility of error, meeting the automotive industry's strictest expectations for performance and safety. Operating across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Innoviz has been selected by internationally recognized premium car brands for use in consumer vehicles as well as by other commercial and industrial leaders for a wide range of use cases. For more information, visit innoviz-tech.com
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Media Contact
Media@innoviz-tech.com
Investor Contact
Maya Lustig
Innoviz Technologies
+972 54 677 8100
Investors@innoviz-tech.com
The battle for LiDAR: Omar Kielf vs. Elon Musk
20 June, 2022
https://techtime.co.il/2022/06/20/lidar-5/
The LiDAR Coalition, led by Innoviz CEO Omar Kilef and Velodyne CEO Dr. Ted Tewkesbury, seeks to promote legislation encouraging the use of LiDAR in vehicles. In front of them stands Elon Musk, who believes that this sensor is a "blessing to undo"
The world's leading LiDAR sensor manufacturers, including the Israeli company Innoviz, announced the establishment of a joint consortium, The LiDAR Coalition, with the aim of promoting the adoption of LiDAR technology in driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving, and in road infrastructures such as traffic lights. The coalition will make efforts to persuade U.S. decision makers, legislators, and regulators to recognize the need to integrate LiDAR sensors into safety systems, and to enshrine this in law, regulations, and as a category in the safety rating of vehicle models. This is in order to improve the performance of these systems, especially in poor visibility conditions, and to reduce road carnage and damage to pedestrians.
The coalition formulated a position paper drafted by Innoviz's Executive Director Omar Kilf and Velodyne Director General Dr. Ted Tewkesbury, which stated: "In recent years, we have witnessed a tragic increase in the number of pedestrians killed on U.S. roads. We must adopt innovative technologies that will help prevent traffic accidents and reverse this trend. That's why we're forming the Coalition of Companies to promote, through lobbying among decision makers, the adoption of life-saving technology that has the greatest potential to protect the safety of pedestrians."
LiDAR saves lives
The document presents official data, according to which there was a 46% jump in the number of pedestrians killed in road accidents between 2011 and 2020: from 4,457 in 2011 to 6,516 fatalities in 2020. The National Road Safety Authority (NHTSA) in the US reported that in 2021 there was a very large increase in the number of fatalities: 42,915 people were killed in traffic accidents. The breakdown of the data shows that 75% of pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents that occurred at dusk or at night. "This data shows that to protect vulnerable road users, we need to adopt solutions specifically tailored to dark conditions."
LiDAR manufacturers point to a technological flaw that impairs the ability of safety systems, such as automatic emergency braking, frontal collision warning, lane deviation, and more, to detect pedestrians in dark conditions. IIHS, which is owned and established by all U.S. insurance companies to reduce the number of road accidents, recently assessed that automatic radar or camera-based emergency braking systems (PAEB) failed to improve the ability to detect pedestrians in dark conditions — compared to vehicles not equipped with PAEB systems.
A LiDAR sensor is an active optical scanning sensor that provides 3D vision capability. The LiDAR system transmits short laser signals in the form of a scan, and measures the direction and return times of the signals. The processor in the sensor produces a "dot image" of the vehicle's surroundings from these measurements. This image is analyzed by an orientation algorithm that identifies the objects in the vehicle's environment.
Since this is an active system based on the measurement of initiated radiation, the detector is not affected by the lighting conditions. It operates in day and night conditions and is not affected by blinding light. Previously, LiDAR sensors were mainly used in military and space industry applications, as they were very expensive. Today, many companies operate, including Innoviz, which produce new sensors at a price level suitable for mass integration into the automotive industry.
Kielf and Tewkesbury write that current-generation LiDAR sensors, "have a high resolution that allows them to detect stationary pedestrians. We believe that LiDAR should be a necessary component of any safety system designed to identify pedestrians. We cannot remain complacent in the face of the dismal data: not using LiDAR in collision prevention systems means ignoring half of the equation. The coalition will work so that the administration recognizes these facts and that this recognition is reflected in policy."
Musk flagged LiDAR as a threat to Tesla
The biggest opponent of the idea is Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla, who repeatedly argues that there is no need to use LiDAR systems. He claimed that "the use of LiDAR has become more expensive and unnecessary" and even called it a "blessing to fool's errand". Musk believes that in-vehicle sensing systems can only be based on cameras, even for fully autonomous driving. In his opinion, it is possible to overcome the poor functioning of the cameras in difficult visibility conditions by improving the algorithm for deciphering the image and using neural networks.
In 2019, during a presentation on Tesla's activities in the field of autonomous driving, he stated: "Anyone who relies on LiDAR – is lost. Lost. This is an expensive and unnecessary sensor. Eventually the automakers will give it up. You'll see." It is worth noting that his opinion is unacceptable to the automotive industry. The LiDAR is a significant component of the autonomous vehicle developed by Google, it is integrated into GM's Auto-Cruise system, BMW and another major automaker have decided to acquire Innoviz's LiDAR sensors, and even Mobileye has developed a LiDAR sensor in collaboration with Intel for its autonomous driving package.
By the way, Inviz's business model is based on the fact that the cost of the sensor meets the conditions of automakers and does not create an unnecessary load on pricing. About a year ago, Tesla test vehicles were spotted on the roads of the United States with a Luminar LiDAR system installed on their roof. The industry thought that Tesla had withdrawn from the absolute veto over LiDAR systems, but a few months ago it became clear that it had not yet: in the patent application that Tesla recently filed, it was written that the LiDAR system is used to train and validate the autonomous driving system – and is not intended to be a component of the sensing system itself.
Innoviz Technologies Ltd (INVZ)
Thursday, June 16 | Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference 2022
https://kvgo.com/db-global-auto-industry/innoviz-technologies-ltd-june-2022
Previously announced on Twitter
Im going to give a presentation on $INVZ at the @DeutscheBank auto conference. It will be webcasted and you can register to see it. Thursday 12:50 ET https://t.co/NoOvVBQRMU pic.twitter.com/Tzg4GzwhKX
— Omer Keilaf (@KeilafOmer) June 16, 2022
Repost from Stocktwits, courtesy of Nemco
6/13/2022, 09:00 AM
Innoviz appointed last week Brijesh Shukla as country manager of Japan. Brijesh Shukla, who has twenty years of experience in direct customer-facing roles for companies such as Nissan, Honda, Toyota and Mitsubishi, will represent and manage Innoviz's growing business in Japan.
Yesterday, Brijesh Shukla gave his first presentation on Innoviz LiDAR and perception software at SmartCityX (University of Creativity, Japan)
Transcript of Innoviz Q1 2022 Financial Results Call
Date: May 11, 2022
Link https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_829f9b9eae112001075e96b45dd1e765/innoviz/db/1112/9777/file/Transcript+11.5.2022+Q1+2022+earnings+call_FINAL.pdf
Innoviz Bolsters Sales Leadership with New Management Team Appointments
May 24 2022 - 04:01PM
PR Newswire (US)
https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NASDAQ/innoviz-technologies-INVZ/stock-news/88201646/innoviz-bolsters-sales-leadership-with-new-managem
Appoints Scott Craig as Country Manager, U.S. and Brijesh Shukla as Country Manager, Japan
TEL AVIV, Israel, May 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Innoviz Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: INVZ) (the "Company" or "Innoviz"), a leading provider of high-performance LiDAR sensors and perception software, today announced a series of management team appointments to bolster its sales leadership experience and support its continued growth.
Tali Chen, Chief Business Officer, Innoviz Technologies
Innoviz has appointed Tali Chen as Chief Business Officer (CBO), effective immediately. Chen will oversee the Company's business development activities, establish sales targets and KPIs, and implement, report and review strategic sales and marketing plans. Chen replaces Oren Rosenzweig, who is stepping down from his CBO and Board roles, effective immediately, to pursue new opportunities. Rosenzweig will continue in an active advisory role through summer 2022 to ensure a smooth transition.
Chen most recently served as CBO for DSP Group, a global leader in wireless communications for smart-enabled devices. In this role, she managed global sales, marketing, investor relations and business growth operations. Chen also spearheaded strategic relations and partnerships with Fortune 100 & 500 corporations and led complex, multi-million-dollar sales cycles encompassing preliminary discussions, contract negotiations, deal closing, and partnership roadmap development. Prior to her tenure at DSP Group, Chen served in corporate development roles for RADA Electronics, a global corporation that develops, manufactures and markets advanced military systems.
The Company also announced that it has appointed Scott Craig and Brijesh Shukla as country managers of the U.S. and Japan, respectively. Craig brings decades of experience in the semiconductor and automotive industries, previously serving as the Executive Director of Automotive Strategy and OEM Business Development at onsemi where he was responsible for OEM business development at Ford Motor Company worldwide, Stellantis and Argo – worldwide. Craig will be responsible for sales and business development of Innoviz LiDAR products and associated software in all industry verticals in North America. Shukla, who has twenty years of experience in direct customer-facing roles for companies such as Nissan, Honda, Toyota and Mitsubishi, will represent and manage Innoviz's growing business in Japan.
Innoviz CEO and Co-Founder Omer Keilaf said, "We are excited about our newest appointments as we continue to expand our automotive business and begin penetrating the non-automotive industry in parallel. Tali brings a breadth of expertise critical to our growth strategy, including an impressive track record of pipeline and revenue creation through market share expansion. She will be a great asset to our Company as we seek to monetize our best-in-class products and drive sales. Similarly, appointing Scott and Brijesh is the logical next step to capitalize on our growth opportunities following Innoviz's multi-year, multi-billion-dollar nomination with a global vehicle manufacturer. We look forward to benefitting from their vast sales and business generation experience as we aim to break more new ground."
Chen commented, "I'm thrilled to be joining Innoviz. The Company is, in my opinion, a significant player in the LiDAR field, and its recent milestone nomination is yet another testament to its leadership. With Innoviz's cutting-edge technology and breadth of partnerships, the Company has many potential avenues to drive revenue. I look forward to building on this foundation and reaching even greater heights."
Keilaf continued, "We are grateful for Oren's major contribution in co-founding Innoviz and helping lead it to where it is today. Oren had an important role in Innoviz's commercial success and in shaping our position in the market. I wish Oren continued success in his future endeavors."
Oren Rosenzweig commented, "Co-founding Innoviz over six years ago and leading the Business Development, Sales and Product activities in the time since have been some of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of this journey. We took Innoviz from an idea, to one of the leading players in the emerging Autonomous Driving industry. At this point in the life of the company, and in mine, it is the right time to hand over responsibilities to an extremely talented group of people. I will support Tali and the leadership team to ensure a successful transition and I wish the incredible Innoviz team continued success."
About Tali Chen
Tali Chen previously served as Chief Business Officer at DSP Group. Prior to this role, she served as Chief Marketing Officer, where she managed the IoT business line, European business development, sales and marketing, US operations and corporate management, and before that, served as CVP of Corporate Development. Before joining DSP Group, Tali was Director of Corporate Development at RADA Electronic Industries, a Major in the Israeli Defense Forces, and the founding manager of the "Atidim for Industry" program. Tali holds an LLB in Law and Government with honors from the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) of Herzliya and an MBA from Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
About Scott Craig
Scott Craig previously served as the Executive Director of Automotive Strategy & OEM Business Development at onsemi, where he was responsible for the Company's automotive strategy and OEM business development. During his tenure, he has led the regional and global teams, contributing to double digit growth within the Americas. Prior to joining onsemi, he served as the Global Account Executive at Infineon, where he was responsible for business development at Ford Motor Company worldwide, leading the promotion of innovation and collaboration between the two organizations. Craig holds a BA degree in physics from Kalamazoo College, a BS degree in electrical engineering from Wayne State University, and is working on a MA of Divinity from Fuller Seminary.
About Brijesh Shukla
Brijesh Shukla previously served as Project & Program Manager at Valeo Automotive (Comfort and Driving Assistant System). He has a background in engineering and business, with most of his career involved in the techno-commercial side, working with Japanese automotive OEM accounts. Over the past two decades, he has been actively involved in the tech-enabled industry. He has a deep understanding of various ADAS products, including LiDAR. Before joining Valeo Japan, he worked in Continental Japan, and in Denso Japan. Brijesh holds a BS degree in Mathematics & Physics, a Master's in Computer application and MBA in operation management.
About Innoviz Technologies
Innoviz is a global leader in LiDAR technology, working towards a future with safe autonomous vehicles on the world's roads. Innoviz's LiDAR and perception software "see" better than a human driver and reduce the possibility of error, meeting the automotive industry's strictest expectations for performance and safety. Operating across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Innoviz has been selected by internationally-recognized premium car brands for use in consumer vehicles as well as by other commercial and industrial leaders for a wide range of use cases. For more information, visit innoviz-tech.com.
Join the discussion: Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter
Media Contact
Media@innoviz-tech.com
Investor Contact
Maya Lustig
Innoviz Technologies
+972 54 677 8100
Investors@innoviz-tech.com
BMW LAUNCHED THE BMW 7, WHICH FEATURES THE INVIZ SENSOR
April 24, 2022
https://techtime.co.il/2022/04/24/innoviz-31/
(Translated by Google from Hebrew to English)
THE LEADING VEHICLE REPORTER, CHRIS TSUI, MARVELED AT THE ADAS SYSTEMS AND AUTONOMOUS DRIVING CAPABILITIES IN THE NEW SERIES 7, WHICH RELY ON INVIZ'S SENSOR. HE SUMMED UP THE EXPERIENCE: "THE CARS IN THE NEW SERIES KNOW HOW TO DRIVE BETTER THAN YOU"
After working together that lasted four years, the LiDAR sensor of the Israeli company Innoviz reaches the market in a new BMW (BMW) series of vehicles. Last week, the German automaker launched the new generation of the BMW 7 luxury vehicle series, which will hit the market in November 2022. The new series includes petrol engine cars, hybrid cars, and for the first time a fully electric model, the BMW i7, which will be equipped with a battery that will be enough to travel 300 miles per charge.
Starting in 2023, the new 7 Series will be BMW's first series, which will feature Inviz's LiDAR sensor, defined by BMW as "the most powerful sensor in the industry." BMW markets the new models as the forefront of technology when it comes to driver safety and assist applications, autonomous driving, a combination of augmented reality and digitalization. Inviz's sensor is a key component of the sensor array that supports these applications, along with radars for all ranges, with vertical separation, and an 8-megapixel camera.
In March 2022, Inviz's CEO, Omer Kilf, discovered that the sensor the company developed for BMW had successfully passed all the tests and reached the freeze phase. This means that at this moment it is forbidden to make changes to the design approved by BMW, and it will enter production in its current form. Its mass production begins as early as 2022.
The car knows how to drive better than you
As part of the marketing campaign ahead of the launch, BMW has invited leading bloggers and automotive reporters for test drives in the new models, which have yielded audit columns on well-known websites in the automotive industry, such as The Drive, Which Car, HT Auro, Forbes and more. One of the reporters who made a test drive was Chris Tsui of The Drive. In an article titled "BMW joins the competition for hands-free driving," he marveled at the ADAS and autonomous driving systems that rely on Inviz's sensor, summing up the experience: "The cars in the new series of sedans know how to drive better than you do." Chris points out that the semi-autonomous driving applications on intercity roads, as well as the improved capacity of autonomous parking, make the vehicle "more of a self-driving machine than a machine designed to be driven."
The i7 features level 2 auxiliary applications (that is, with hands on the wheel) of adaptive cruise and lane keeping. at speeds of up to 140 km/h, automatic driving mode can be activated on intercity roads, similar to a pilot car in tesla vehicles. in this situation, the car performs the acceleration, braking and steering operations autonomously, without the driver being required to hold the steering wheel, but only to keep his gaze on the road. the system is also able to autonomously transition from lane to path. as the car approaches the exit from the main road, the driver can order at the touch of a button to automatically make a gradual transition from lane to lane to exit, as long as traffic is not too busy or the exit is too close.
Self-navigating into the home garage
BMW has announced that these models will later be allowed to drive autonomous Class 3 at speeds of up to 60 km/h even on non-long-distance roads. For Level 3 autonomous driving, Inviz's LiDAR sensor is necessary. Commentators from the automotive world estimate that this capability will be particularly attractive in the Chinese market, where the average speed of travel in cities is relatively low due to traffic congestion.
Tsui goes on to review the autonomous parking capability of the new model, noting that he has not yet encountered such high capabilities. Although the 7 Series models are relatively large, the orientation and maneuverability allows the vehicle to park even inside challenging parking spaces. In addition, a predetermined route can be programmed so that the vehicle navigates independently, for example, from the entrance gate, through the driveway to the garage. The semi-autonomous driving technology in these vehicles may be among the best in the industry, a worthy competitor, and even beyond, for GM's SuperCars and Tesla's autopilot."
Related tweet from Innoviz CEO, Omer Keilaf https://twitter.com/KeilafOmer
Recent tweet and video on Innoviz Two
InnovizTwo's performance is off the charts! Not only is the #LiDAR able to see obstacles in excellent detail, but it's also at the right price to enable all #automakers to offer safe #AutonomousVehicles. Check out the point cloud from the first-in-car demo ride around Tel Aviv! pic.twitter.com/g9eWgUqEds
— Innoviz Technologies (@InnovizLiDAR) March 9, 2022
Innoviz claims new lidar can deliver L3 vehicle autonomy
By Dave LaChance on February 14, 2022
https://www.repairerdrivennews.com/2022/02/14/innoviz-claims-new-lidar-can-deliver-l3-vehicle-autonomy/
InnovizTwo lidar unit. (Provided by Innoviz)
In getting to the next level of semi-autonomous driving, the capabilities and mounting positions chosen for lidar units are going to play a critical role, the CEO of one technology company said during a recent webinar on lidar standards for Level 3 autonomy.
Omer Keilaf, CEO of Innoviz Technologies, said during a recent webinar that his company’s solid state InnovizTwo lidar unit, unlike most now on the market, has the combination of cost, performance, reliability and size to make L3 highway driving commercially feasible.
There is a “quantum leap” between “partial driving automation,” which ISO and SAE International classify as L2+, and the “high driving automation” of L3, Keilaf said.
SAE levels of driving automation. (Provided by SAE)
“The main reason is because, at Level 2, the company doesn’t need to take any responsibility if something wrong happens. It’s the driver’s fault, even though the car is making driving decisions. So the driver needs to be ready to engage if something wrong happens,” Keilaf said.
At L3, the manufacturer takes responsibility. “They need more sensors, more processing power, and they need redundancy. So, when a car is driving autonomously, it cannot rely on a sensor that might degrade—it could be low light conditions, direct sunlight, or rain. And for that reason, you need to have sensors that can complement each other.”
The addition of lidar to the more commonly used technologies of cameras and radar units is generally acknowledged in the industry to be the crucial to self-driving capability. General Motors expects to be the first to bring lidar technology into the mainstream, with the Ultra Cruise system it plans to offer on certain models in 2023.
Lidar, which stands for “light detection and ranging,” complements cameras and radar because it functions well under conditions that challenge the other technologies. It works by firing a beam of laser light at an object, and then capturing the reflection of that beam, providing a three-dimensional picture of objects around the vehicle known as a “point cloud,” showing where the objects are headed and how fast they’re moving.
The vehicle uses information from the various sensors in its driving decision-making, in a process defined as “sensor fusion.”
Lidar, camera and radar performance under different conditions. (Provided by Innoviz)
Keilaf suggested that the most economical way for automakers to get to L3 is to equip their vehicles with the technology needed for that level of operation, but allow them to operate at L2 or L2+ only, using the opportunity to crowdsource data in real time.
“The car maker can leverage [the technology investment] by collecting data, validating, and basically measuring the level of waste that exists in the system and improve it over time by doing software upgrades [over the air]. And that’s a good way to accelerate the process,” he said.
Keilaf restricted his analysis to highway driving, rather than urban scenarios, which present a greatly different set of challenges. Restricting L3 vehicles mostly to highways “would simplify overall autonomous system requirements and costs, eliminate a huge daily risk from our lives, and reduce the need for human control of a car for many hours every day,” Keilaf said in an accompanying whitepaper.
Considerations involved in urban and highway use of lidar. (Provided by Innoviz)
The capabilities required for highway driving are “mostly related to the speed of the car. Obviously, the faster the car is going to drive autonomously, it needs more time to react. It means that it needs to see further away, means that it needs to predict and understand the scene better in order to drive safely,” he said.
While many types of lidars have been developed, Keilaf said, most are not able to meet the requirements for highway L3 driving because of issues of cost, performance, reliability and size.
In order to be successful, L3 systems will have to be not only safe, but will have to give the occupants a feeling of comfort, Keilaf said. In other words, though driving characteristics like frequent, sudden stops or directional changes might keep a vehicle from crashing, they will not be acceptable to consumers.
Keilaf suggested that there’s some misunderstanding in the industry about what capabilities are most important in a lidar unit.
“The market is very obsessed with range. You’ll see everybody’s talking about how far the lidar can see,” he said. And yet, he added, the single most important parameter is actually the sensor’s vertical resolution.
Vertical field of view (VFOW) considerations for lidar use. (Provided by Innoviz)
“One of the greatest challenges for an autonomous vehicle is to detect a small, extremely low reflectivity object, such as a tire, at long distance while driving at highway speeds,” according to the whitepaper. “Many trade-offs are required in order to ensure safe braking and avoid a crash.”
Where the lidar unit is placed on the vehicle makes a significant difference, Keilaf said. If it’s mounted in the grille, then the total vertical field of view (VFOW) needs to be 25 to 40 degrees. But if it’s mounted on the roof, a lower VFOW would be needed, because since detection of objects is easier and the hood blocks the downward view.
Innoviz suggests that OEMs consider all possible mounting locations in all models in which the lidar units will be installed.
At least four vertical pixels are needed for a system to recognize a pedestrian. (Provided by Innoviz)
The resolution of the unit also plays a crucial role. For the vehicle’s software to detect and classify a person in its field of view, at least eight pixels—two horizontal and four vertical—are needed.
The lidar unit’s ability to stop the car at a safe distance, if necessary, is another consideration. The sensor needs to be able to differentiate various objects—pedestrians, bicycles, trucks—at that distance with an acceptable level of certainty.
In order to avoid “false alarms,” Keilaf said, at least two vertical pixels must be detected across multiple frames—one pixel is simply not enough. In real world performance, this means that, in order to recognize an object at least 14 centimeters high at a safe stopping distance of 100 meters, the vehicle’s speed would be limited to 130 kph, or about 81 mph, on a dry road.
Environmental conditions like rain or snow, lighting, road conditions and blockage of the sensor can also reduce the system’s performance and increase required braking time, Keilaf said.
The lidar unit’s frame rate, the number of pixels that are refreshed every second, is also important; the higher the frame rate, the shorter the reaction time and movement detection.
For lidar makers, Keilaf said, the challenge is to combine high resolution, frame rate and VFOV in a unit that is compact, efficient, rugged and affordable.
New tweet and video from Innoviz CEO, Omer Keilaf.
Perception SW testing SRS (safety related scenarios) Emergency Braking for a stopped motor cycle $INVZ pic.twitter.com/Q48HjAYsbx
— Omer Keilaf (@KeilafOmer) February 15, 2022
LiDAR: Review Leading To Buy Innoviz Recommendation
Feb. 10
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4485872-lidar-review-leading-to-buy-innoviz-recommendation
Summary
- The LIDAR market for vehicles is forecast to grow from $1.5 billion to more than $6 billion in the next few years.
- Established companies and new tech start-ups are chasing this market; most car manufacturers buy the technology rather than developing it in-house.
- The race is on to get products to market; choosing the right companies to invest in could lead to significant returns on investment in a relatively short time frame.
In this article, I provide a review of seven smaller companies hoping to sell LiDAR systems, most of them are tech start-ups, and all of them are small with a currently depressed share price.
The purpose of the review is to choose a LiDAR company to buy.
The LiDAR companies reviewed are Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (NASDAQ:VLDR), AEye, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIDR), Innoviz Technologies (NASDAQ:INVZ), Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR), MicroVision, Inc. (NASDAQ:MVIS), Ouster, Inc. (NYSE:OUST), Aeva Technologies (NYSE:AEVA).
LiDAR is a reasonably straightforward idea. A laser is directed forward, bounces off an object, then a sensor collects the rebound. The software can then calculate the distance to the object by looking at how long it takes for the laser to get back to the sensor. Although the technology has significant limitations, it doesn't work in bad weather, and intense sunlight and other LiDAR interference are problems. It is becoming an integral part of autonomous vehicle sensing, and many semi-autonomous systems already use it.
A web literature review suggests the market for LiDAR is currently $1.5 billion with a CAGR between 12% and 16%. $7 billion by 2026 appears to be the consensus opinion. There is a wide variety of forecasts, and we must also consider the NODAR view held by Tesla and others. They believe that LiDAR is not needed and cameras alone are sufficient. The falling price of LiDAR and its increased accuracy plus the ongoing investment by significant players suggest that LiDAR is here to stay and that it will become a large market.
My opinion is that LiDAR will be a part of the sensing system used by autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles along with Radar and Cameras. Manufacturers will likely integrate all three technologies into automobiles to provide improved safety.
The review will consider three points for each candidate company:
1. What technology are they using?
2. What is their route to market? Do they have a sales channel?
3. Company finances, have they got enough cash on hand?
LiDAR Technology
LiDAR companies have three crucial decisions.
What type of laser will they use? How will they direct the laser forward to hit different targets? What sensor technology will they use to collect the information?
Types of Laser
Power and hence range decisions are restricted by the need for the laser to be eye-safe. Most companies use 905nm or 1550nm lasers; the higher power 1550nm can go further and is inherently eye-safe; however, it is a new technology and requires expensive and sometimes toxic material to make and sense it.
905nm is lower power, limiting its range, but it is an older, well-understood technology that does not require exotic production materials. It is not inherently eye-safe, 905nm laser can reach the human retina, which is not true for the 1550nm. There is much debate about the safety of this technology and, at the moment, limited testing information. This article from LaserFocus World: Automotive LiDAR: Safety questions raised about 1550 nm LiDAR explains much of the debate.
Directing the laser at an object
Manufacturers are choosing one of four technologies, the goal is to make a reliable, low-cost sensor that enables AI to accurately interpret what is in front of a car.
Flash: a single wide-angle radar illuminates the entire field of view. Flash has range limitations and some accuracy concerns as every object in view only receives a fraction of the laser.
Spinning: These are the lasers we see on top of autonomous cars; the laser spins through up to 360 degrees many times per second. There are questions about this technology. Can it be made cheap enough or reliable enough for mass-market adoption? Spinning lasers are challenging to incorporate into car design; they have to be above the car like a small hat, and not too long ago, they were $80,000 each.
MEMS: The laser is fixed (solid-state) and is aimed at one or more mirrors; the mirrors move to direct the laser. Often a LiDAR consists of multiple lasers aimed at multiple mirrors to ensure the field of view is completely covered.
FMCW: The laser is a continuous stream with changing characteristics, the retuning laser beam interferes with the continuous stream being emitted by the vehicle and this interference can be interpreted to give the required information.
Time of Flight (ToF):
The time it takes for a burst to travel to an object and return is used to work out the distance traveled, and done at the pixel level, it gives an accurate view of what is ahead. The number of pixels (the point cloud density) dictates how much information is available.
The following table of information was gathered from the websites listed in the final row of the table.
The Competitive Situation
The product and its attributes are one thing but far more important is the companies' ability to sell the product. It is often not the best tech that wins.
The LiDAR manufacturers must sell their products to the companies making vehicles. Their success will solely be based on the relationships they develop with the tier 1 OEMs and the major car manufacturers.
In this case, the competitive advantage is in the sales channel.
The sales channel info is gleaned from press reports, many deals are likely in negotiation, and as these negotiations are kept private, it is impossible to have a complete understanding.
1. Velodyne
The advantage of first-mover is always important, and in this market, Velodyne was the first mover. They make and sell a spinning LiDAR using a 903nm laser that can sense up to 250m distance. Other LiDAR systems are under development but are not at the market yet.
Velodyne had a difficult 2021, its stock price fell more than 70%, and a series of problems beset it. Criterion Technology accused Velodyne of stealing trade secrets, and a leadership argument led to its founder's ousting, plus the Q2 2021 sales figures missed expectations.
I have real concerns about Velodyne's path to market; they said in 2021 that the number of multi-year contracts was up to 34 (from 26); however, these seem to relate to the high-value research LiDAR systems rather than any mass-market deals. They announced an agreement with QuinteQ that gave the share price a lift in January.
In the mass market, things have gone badly; at the beginning of 2021, Velodyne had firm commitments from three major auto manufacturers. All three of these have failed to generate sales. Ford, an early investor, divested its holding and stopped using Velodyne (canceling a project). Volvo and Hyundai used Velodyne for testing and research but moved to other suppliers. Velodyne is without any Tier 1 supplier or major car manufacturer (they do have Faraday), at least none that I could find. A complete waste of their first-mover advantage. The problem would appear to be the price Velodyne provides high-value spinning LIDARs. The last quoted price I could find was $75,000 at that price or anything near it the product will be unsuitable for anything other than testing and research.
Amazon announcement, on February 7th, 2022, Velodyne announced that it had entered an agreement with Amazon issuing a warrant for almost 40 million shares with an exercise price of $4.18 and a date in 2030. Amazon is expecting the price of Velodyne shares to increase, and they have a history of taking out a warrant in companies they intend to do business with. In 2017, Amazon signed a similar agreement with Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG); in the end, it did not go so well for Plug Power despite the initial news sending the price up nearly 70%. In March 2021, Plug recorded negative revenue because of the Amazon deal, and its shares plunged.
The deal with Amazon does not change my view of Velodyne's route to market, it may develop into something, but at the moment, Velodyne will not be on my buy list.
2. Aeye Inc
Aeye has a MEMS 1550nm LiDAR system using time of flight. Aeye was founded by an engineer responsible for mission-critical fighter jet targeting systems at Lockheed Martin. They have signed a deal with the tier 1 auto supplier "Continental," and the continental website is advertising the Aeye based LiDAR system with a mass production date of 2024.
Aeye is also being used (amongst others) by TuSimple (NASDAQ:TSP) the autonomous truck manufacturer. Aeye LiDAR is adaptive; once an objective is identified, the system focuses on that area sending more of its laser output in that direction.
Aeye claims that this technique improves range and reliability; it remains to be seen if these claims are as apparent in real-world applications as in testing.
The deal with Continental gives Aeye an excellent route to market.
3. Innoviz
This Israel based startup has a 905nm MEMS ToF system that has resistance to sunlight interference. Innoviz1 is production-ready, and the improved Innoviz2 will have demonstration units available in Q4 2022. Innoviz360 will be a spinning LiDAR and is currently in development.
Innoviz has made a significant commercial step forward with BMW announcing it will use the Magna Supplied Innoviz LiDAR system in production cars. The Series 7 models already have the system, and it will be incorporated into series 5 and series 3 cars soon.
The agreement is a massive win for Innoviz. Magna is one of the leading tier 1 supplier and BMW is a prestigious manufacturer. This deal alone puts Innoviz in the buy column.
Innoviz has two other potential mass-market channels. Hirani, the Chinese tier 1 supplier, and Harman (Samsung subsidiary) have signed development deals with Innoviz, but I have no news on how close these agreements are to the market.
4. Luminar
This German-based start-up has a 1550nm laser mechanical system (of its own design) that is making excellent commercial progress. Mobileye (Intel subsidiary) launched a robotaxi service using Luminar LiDAR.
Volvo announced they would use Luminar LiDAR in their electric SUV (already in production). Mercedes Benz announced they would use Luminar LiDAR in their premium vehicles when they took a small stake in the company last year.
Polestar has named Luminar its supplier, and Luminar has development agreements with Toyota and Audi, although there is no sales agreement yet.
Nvidia announced an agreement to use Luminar's long-range LiDAR as part of its self-driving car platform.
Of all the companies under review, Luminar would appear to have the best route to market with sales already made and big-name customers it seems very well placed.
These market moves make Luminar the third company in the buy column.
5. MicroVision
MicroVision has established tried and tested tech that they have been selling for several years. The US military is a regular customer, and MicroVision is adapting their 905 nm laser MEMS system for the Auto industry. MicroVision is integrating its radar system into the LiDAR product, adding even more detail. MicroVision claims immunity to other LiDAR systems and sunlight and a dense point cloud with equal long-range and short-range data. The point cloud data should be of significant additional value as it may be more accurate for AI, enabling faster recognition.
It could and should be a winning product; however, their market route is unclear. They appear to have no commercial deals and, in the latest Q3, discussed their plan to build a sales force and marketing strategy.
from the webcast on January 11th
We are directly marketing our products to OEMs, aiming to secure co-development deals, eventually leading to directed buy agreements.
It is a good strategy; however, I cannot invest in MicroVision with no current tier 1 deals and no important news about how these negotiations are going.
6. Ouster
Ouster has a similar product range to Velodyne; they started with high-end spinning radar and have developed via a takeover solid-state LiDAR. The solid-state flash LiDAR comes in short, medium, and long-range versions, but we have no clear evidence of a route to market. Ouster is making deals and selling its products into other markets but has not yet managed to break into the auto industry.
7. Aeva
This US-based Tech company is the only company in this review using FMCW lasers. FMCW would appear to have advantages; It is 4D, which gives velocity information at the pixel level immediately rather than being worked out by software. It has a more extended range than other systems, and Aeva has managed to provide it as LiDAR on a chip which is a first.
Unlike the other LiDAR systems mentioned, this one is inherently immune to interference from other LiDAR systems as well as sunlight. It would appear to be a technological improvement.
Aeva has a promising route to market, the parent company of Volkswagen has taken a stake, and Volkswagen is considering using the technology in future vehicles. Aeva with Volkswagen is one to watch, but the agreement is not yet a firm route to market. Volkswagen is testing the product, but that differs from a firm order or MoU.
The review of routes to market leaves us with three potential investments Luminar, Innoviz, and Aeye. All three have products good enough to get Tier 1 Auto companies to buy them, they should all be successful. I will next look at the finances and other information to decide which of them is likely to be the biggest success.
LiDAR Company financials
Do Luminar, Innoviz, and Aeye have enough cash on hand to get their products to market?
Balance sheet analysis of all three is shown below
The data is from Seeking Alpha financial pages.
No concerns here these three companies have plenty of cash on hand which was to be expected as they are new additions to the market. All three have more than three years cash runway.
Company Valuations
All three companies, along with the rest of the market, have low share prices at the moment (at least when compared to recent history). Using a DCF model and Wall Street target prices, I tried to come up with a valuation of the three.
Source: DCF valuations from SimplyWallStreet company pages, Wall Street targets from Seeking Alpha.
All three companies have significant upside, solid balance sheets, and an excellent route to market. Further review is needed to separate them.
Luminar
Wall Street has been falling out of love with Luminar; the target price moved lower again on February 1st; the average from 11 analysts fell from $28 to $25.70. A DCF value of $23 and a Wall Street target of $25.70 imply an upside of around 60%. Luminar made the surprising move of borrowing money to fund a share buyback scheme in December, covered on Seeking Alpha in this article by @stone fox capital. The share buyback scheme followed a significant purchase of shares by insiders. I wouldn't say I like borrowing money for share buyback at the best of times but particularly so when it is done by a pre-profit company still working to bring its product to market.
Aeye
Aeye has the biggest potential gain. Wall Street is targeting a +300% return, and the DCF gives a return of almost 3,000%; the DCF figure is based on management predictions of sales and assumes a terminal value of $22,000,000, which discounts back to a current value of $11,000,000. The cash flow forecasts show that positive free cash flow is achieved for the first time in 2025, increasing to more than a billion dollars by 2031.
These forecasts seem too good to be true and, in my experience, anything that looks too good usually is. It is three years before the company is forecast to generate any cash. An awful lot can happen to a company in three years. The technology is unique, untested in the real world, and not due to hit the market for three years.
As a result, Aeye will be joining the watch list. I will look to buy Aeye at some stage but not yet.
Innoviz
The deal with BMW means that Innoviz will start generating revenue this year; it will be the first of the companies I have looked at to have its Technology in mass-market production, which makes the forecasts for growth far more believable. We can look at the sales of BMW and use it as a proxy as BMW has committed to Innoviz LiDAR in all of its models.
The cash flow forecast is as follows
Innoviz has made excellent progress in other markets; the Innoviz 360 scanning LiDAR is significantly cheaper than competitive products and will be in full-scale production next year. Obayashi, the Japanese construction company, has been using LiDAR from Innoviz since 2018 and last month announced that it will be adding it to an automated crane system. This comes after three years of testing and is a testament to the reliability and quality of Innoviz products.
It is also worth noting that Ark Investments and Morgan Stanley have increased their stakes in Innoviz in the last 12 months (Morgan Stanley by 1000%).
Conclusion
In short: Innoviz has the products, the route to market, and the finances to succeed.
Innoviz is a clear winner of this review, my recommendation is to buy Innoviz with a target price of $8.40, a 100% increase, and to add Luminar plus Aeye to a watchlist and await further developments.
This article was written by Stephen Tobin
Having started my career working for BoA in the early 1990s (and completed my MBA), I have been actively researching and trading in the markets ever since. I spent most of my career working in the education field; I have been a senior manager in Educational establishments, both online and brick and mortar schools, for more than 20 years. I like to trade in small companies with disruptive technology using leverage; I focus on the areas I have particular knowledge of, Education and Renewable Energy. Typically my investments last a few months and rarely last as long as a year.
Facebook post and video
At following link: https://www.facebook.com/InnovizTechnologies/videos/456837359443869/
CES 2022: Kickstarting the Year of InnovizTwo
February 1, 2022
https://innoviz.tech/blog/ces-2022-kickstarting-the-year-of-innoviztwo
We’ve Been Busy Making AVs Safe for Consumers
Innoviz made its return to the CES floor with not one, but three products to show consumers! It was an incredible way to kickstart the New Year and demonstrate what we accomplished during some globally challenging times.
The Grizzly at CES: Featuring InnovizOne
First up, we drove attendees around in our Grizzly demo vehicle outfitted with InnovizOne. BMW selected our InnovizOne technology for its consumer program, and it’s now in such high demand that there’s a waitlist. It’s important for us to showcase that our LiDAR technology is “the real deal,” meaning it’s available now and sees what humans and other technologies might miss in a variety of on-road scenarios.
The team brought the Grizzly to New York twice last year. The demo vehicle is typically kept at our San Jose office for media and local government representatives to ride. Innoviz was excited to bring the Grizzly to Las Vegas, as the strip is a perfect backdrop! A LiDAR point cloud is worth a thousand words. When people see our product first-hand, they get the “WOW factor.”
Introducing InnovizTwo: The Next Generation LiDAR Solution
For the first time at CES, Innoviz presented InnovizTwo, our next-gen LiDAR solution for autonomous vehicles. Our talented engineers put in lots of hard work, despite remote work mandates due to COVID-19, to deliver breakthrough performance for our automotive-grade LiDAR solution for Level 2+ to Level 4 automated driving, the InnovizTwo.
Introducing Innoviz360: Greater Coverage for Less Cost
Our innovation didn’t stop with the InnovizTwo. We also debuted Innoviz360 for the first time, marking our first foray into 360° LiDAR. Innoviz360 features 360° x 64° degree coverage, up to 1280 scanning lines and 300m range, at a lower price point than other spinning LiDARs on the market. Consumers are likely most familiar with 360° LiDAR designs, which can be seen today mounted on top of robotaxis, demo cars and shuttles.
These designs played an important role in advancing automated driving development and bringing LiDAR into the mainstream. However, they’re complex, bulky systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars and are un-suited to meet durability requirements for automotive-grade production. We were excited to demonstrate our modern take on the spinning LiDAR design with Innoviz360, solving size, price, and durability challenges of the legacy designs.
Reflections from the “LiDAR Pit”
From Innoviz’s position at CES, there were a lot of LiDAR developments for the audience to explore; it was more important than ever to set ourselves apart.
In addition to the latest product announcements, during the show, Innoviz announced a collaboration with Twinner, a German-based digital twin generator for the automotive industry. This use case showed the value of LiDAR and its ability to provide a 360° view, which can better assess, inspect and evaluate a vehicle’s condition digitally. Twinner has partnered with several large auto manufacturers, sellers, and logistics companies across Europe and China,. Online car sales are becoming popular amongst consumers, so this was a great way to enter into that conversation.
We were also lucky to have a cohort of MIT students stop by our booth. They included familiar faces from the MIT Sloan School of Management’s Israel Lab. These impressive students spent the fall semester learning about Innoviz to offer actionable insights on go-to-market strategies, competitive analysis, customer acquisition, pricing, and more. If it weren’t for the pandemic, we would have welcomed these fine minds to our HQ in Tel Aviv, but we’re glad they were able to join us in Las Vegas.
What’s on the Road Ahead for LiDAR Systems?
Many LiDAR companies have an achilles heel. Their sensor stacks are limited in their ability to deliver the real-world specifications necessary for true Level 2+ driving. Our ability to develop and produce automotive-grade LiDAR in-house allows us with direct access to automakers, and gives Innoviz a competitive edge. We’re proud of our work. It’s secured us a spot among the top five leaders in the market, and our sights are set on the top position. InnovizTwo samples are in the hands of the automotive community. It’s only a matter of time before it takes the market by storm. We’re already seeing RFQs change to match the performance levels we’re setting for the industry.
I’m optimistic about developing a pathway to regulation. As a member of the LiDAR Sensor Standards Consortium, Innoviz looks forward to playing a leading role in creating standards and regulations that guarantee safety for all road users.
Innoviz white paper: DESIGNING A LEVEL 3 RADAR FOR HIGHWAY DRIVING (Link to paper: https://innoviz.tech/wp-content/uploads/Designing-a-Level-3-LiDAR-for-Highway-Driving_3Jan22.pdf)
Key Figures:
Innoviz LiDAR Pilot Launched to Enhance Twinner Vehicle Inspection Scanning Capabilities
January 06 2022 - 08:00AM, PR Newswire (US)
https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NASDAQ/innoviz-technologies-INVZ/stock-news/86958751/innoviz-lidar-pilot-launched-to-enhance-twinner-ve
TEL AVIV, Israel and HALLE, Germany, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Innoviz Technologies (Nasdaq: INVZ), a leading provider of high performance, solid-state LiDAR sensors and perception software, today announced its collaboration with Twinner, a German-based vehicle scanner provider for remarketing and inspection purposes within the automotive industry, to enhance the capabilities of its sophisticated car scanner. Twinner is testing InnovizOne LiDAR with its Digital Twinn® platform to provide a high-quality 360-degree view of the vehicle in order to better assess, inspect and evaluate a vehicle's condition.
The Digital Twinn® allows cars to be inspected, bought and sold online anytime and anywhere.
Twinner's Digital Twinn® solution utilizes x-ray-like automotive scanning technology to generate a high-quality digital twin model of the vehicle – including its body, roof, underbody, interior and more – to identify defects that would otherwise go unnoticed by the human eye. The Digital Twinn can spot, for example, a scratch on the rim of a tire or a tiny dent on a bumper as well as identify whether a vehicle has previously been repainted so that auto manufacturers, fleet owners, service providers, car dealers and consumers can make better-informed vehicle investment decisions. Twinner has partnered with several large auto manufacturers, sellers, and logistics companies across Europe and Asia.
The integration of Innoviz's automotive-grade, solid-state InnovizOne LiDAR into Twinner's existing sensor suite, which includes multispectral sensors, would enable new features by providing 3D information about the vehicle. Furthermore, Twinner will evaluate Innoviz's rich point cloud data and APIs to support its own perception software. The ability to disclose a vehicle's condition offers value across the automotive ecosystem by providing transparency to car makers, fleet operators, car dealers, and service providers competing in a newly digitized space.
"At Innoviz, we're all about raising the bar on transparency," said Omer Keilaf, CEO and co-founder of Innoviz. "The team at Twinner is driven by a similar philosophy and we're excited to collaborate with them to integrate our high-resolution, solid-state LiDAR technology with their Digital Twinn solution. The inclusion of InnovizOne will further enhance Digital Twinn's value proposition as one of the most sophisticated and accurate scanner for the automotive industry, integrating both remarketing and inspection services."
"Creating transparency and building trust in the automotive space is at the core of our efforts. We are always looking for the most innovative technology partners that share a common vision," said Twinner CEO Silvan Cloud Rath. "Innoviz is a natural partner in our effort to create greater trust in digital transactions."
One of the leading online used car retailers, Carvana, sold approximately 244,000 vehicles online in 2020 (one every 2.2 minutes on average – up 37 percent from the previous year). As digital technologies change the way consumers buy cars, auto makers and car dealers are making significant investments in technologies capable of informing online purchases. The future of a completely digital car-buying experience is around the corner and Innoviz will benefit from being involved in this rapidly growing market.
About Twinner
Founded in 2017, Twinner® is on a mission to revolutionize the automotive industry. Twinner®'s technology makes it possible to create digital images of vehicles so that they no longer need to be viewed in person at specific times in specific locations. In this way, the company brings transparency, security and trust to one of the largest sales markets in the world. Twinner® obtains an incomparably large data set from each vehicle, based on which a Digital Twinn®, i.e., a "digital twin", is created, with which the customer can virtually see more than if he were standing in front of the vehicle themself. The start-up company from Halle has a team of more than 150 experts, all of whom have extensive experience in the automotive and start-up sectors as well as innovation sectors. For more information, visit twinner.com/.
About Innoviz Technologies
Innoviz is a global leader in LiDAR technology, working towards a future with safe autonomous vehicles on the world's roads. Innoviz's LiDAR and perception software "see" better than a human driver and reduce the possibility of error, meeting the automotive industry's strictest expectations for performance and safety. Operating across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Innoviz has been elected both by an internationally-recognized premium car brand for use in consumer vehicles as well as by other commercial and industrial leaders for a wide range of use cases. For more information, visit www.innoviz.tech.
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Contact Information
media@innoviz-tech.com
Investor Contact
Maya Lustig
Innoviz Technologies
+972 54 677 8100
Investors@innoviz-tech.com
Innoviz Technologies Introduces Innoviz360, a New HD LiDAR Category with 10x the Performance and Significantly Lower Cost Versus Existing Solutions
January 5, 2022 - 8:00 am
https://www.stocktitan.net/news/INVZ/innoviz-technologies-introduces-innoviz360-a-new-hd-li-dar-category-i6b4cvvzt6xt.html
Summary
- Innoviz360 is a new, patent-pending HD LiDAR architecture that represents a breakthrough in performance versus traditional standard resolution spinners.
- The new Innoviz360 features 360°x64° degree coverage, 0.05°x0.05° resolution, and up to 1280 scanning lines and 300m range while cutting down the cost significantly versus other solutions.
- Featuring the innovative automotive-grade LiDAR architecture that Innoviz is known for, Innoviz360 is compatible with Shuttles, Robotaxis and Trucks in the automotive space (L4-L5) as well as many non-automotive applications.
- The new product complements InnovizOne and InnovizTwo, front looking LiDARs that are targeting high level of automation and are optimized for passenger vehicles (L2-L3).
- Innoviz360 is expected to generate revenues starting in 2023. Innoviz360 adds new total addressable market (TAM) for non-automotive applications which is expected to be $20B by 2030, in addition to $55B TAM for automotive applications.
- Innoviz expects samples of its Innoviz 360 HD LiDAR to be available in Q4 2022. On Wednesday and Thursday, January 5 and 6, at 4:00 pm PT, Innoviz management will host a happy hour at the Innoviz booth #3855 at CES 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Innoviz Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: INVZ) (the "Company" or "Innoviz"), a leading provider of high-performance, reliable and affordable LiDAR sensors and perception software, introduces a next-generation sensor to its product line - the Innoviz360.
After delivering on its InnovizTwo LiDAR promises, Innoviz continues to demonstrate its ability to innovate and launch new product lines with the Innoviz360. This third-generation LiDAR product will be offered alongside Innoviz's perception software, which converts the LiDAR's raw point cloud data into high-quality outputs for outstanding object detection, classification and tracking.
The new Innoviz360 HDLiDAR sensor represents a breakthrough that leapfrogs traditional, standard-resolution spinner solutions that are performance limited, expensive, big and unreliable. Unlike traditional spinner solutions that are performance limited with only up to 128 scanning lines, the new, lightweight, Innoviz360 LiDAR allows multiple scanning software configurations with up to 1280 scanning lines (10x) at a cost-effective and durable solution than traditional 360 LiDARs.
Innoviz360's HD, wide FoV (360 ° x64 ° ) and reduced cost will help overcome major challenges in achieving full automation in scale for L4-L5 automotive applications, such as robotaxis, shuttles and trucks, and opens new market opportunities for Innoviz beyond the automotive space. These industries include logistics, mapping, industrial and smart infrastructures, which are expected to provide new meaningful r evenues for the Company starting in 2023. Innoviz expects samples of its Innoviz 360 HD LiDAR to be available in Q4 2022.
"After successfully solving the limitations of LiDARs for the passenger vehicle industry with InnovizTwo, we are excited to bring the disruption to the spinner category with our new Innoviz360 HD LiDAR", said Innoviz Co-Founder and CEO Omer Keilaf. "With its high-resolution and wide field of view, the new architecture breaks through the performance and cost limitations of traditional and standard-resolution 360 spinners which will support not only the needed growth in the automotive market, but also in emerging markets such as smart infrastructure, logistics and Industrial".
The new Innoviz360 LiDAR can serve platforms such as the NVIDIA DRIVE, an end-to-end development platform and reference architecture for designing and safely deploying autonomous vehicles .
"New solutions and innovations such as the Innoviz360 running on our open and scalable DRIVE platform can help the industry achieve truly autonomous transportation , " said Gary Hicok, Senior Vice President of Engineering at NVIDIA .
Demonstration of Innoviz products at CES 2022:
Innoviz will demonstrate its LiDAR technologies at the upcoming CES® in Las Vegas, Nevada, from January 5-8, 2022. This will be the first ever opportunity for the public to observe InnovizTwo's performance. In addition to InnovizTwo, Innoviz will also be demonstrating the InnovizOne LiDAR sensor at the show floor in booth #3855, and will be conducting a driving demonstration of InnovizOne on the streets of Las Vegas.
Additional demonstration of InnovizOne at CES® will be in REE's booth #4865, where the high-performance automotive-grade LiDAR sensor will be displayed on REE's brand new autonomous delivery concept vehicle platform, the Leopard.
Events and media availability:
- On Wednesday, January 5, at 12PM PT, Innoviz CEO Omer Keilaf will host a webinar regarding the new Innoviz360 LiDAR. Attendees can join the meeting from their computer or Teams mobile app. To view the presentation, please click here.
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- On Wednesday and Thursday, Jan 5 and 6, Innoviz management will host a happy hour in booth number 3855 in the West Hall at 4:00 pm PT.
- Innoviz Co-Founders CEO Omer Keilaf and CBO Oren Rosenzweig will be available for media interviews and investor briefings. To coordinate a press briefing, live demo or a ride along in the Innoviz 'Grizzly' (demo vehicle) on the streets of Las Vegas during CES, please contact: media@innoviz-tech.com. To coordinate an investor briefing during CES, please contact: investors@innoviz-tech.com.
Innoviz location: Booth #3855, West Hall
About Innoviz Technologies
Innoviz is a global leader in LiDAR technology, working towards a future with safe autonomous vehicles on the world's roads. Innoviz's LiDAR and perception software "see" better than a human driver and reduce the possibility of error, meeting the automotive industry's strictest expectations for performance and safety. Operating across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Innoviz has been elected both by an internationally-recognized premium car brand for use in consumer vehicles as well as by other commercial and industrial leaders for a wide range of use cases. For more information, visit www.innoviz.tech .
Media Contact
Media@innoviz-tech.com
Investor Contact
Maya Lustig
Innoviz Technologies
+972 54 677 8100
Investors@innoviz-tech.com
Ansys and Innoviz Technologies Enable Autonomous Driving Revolution with Next-Gen LiDAR Design
Simulation accelerates high-performing LiDAR development resulting in an optimized design, satisfying strict industry requirements
Jan 04, 2022, 09:00 ET
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ansys-and-innoviz-technologies-enable-autonomous-driving-revolution-with-next-gen-lidar-design-301453338.html
Summary
- Ansys' product portfolio offers a comprehensive set of solutions for the development of a complex micro electrical mechanical LiDAR system
- Ansys tools helped Innoviz Technologies reduce product development by two full design cycles over one and a half years, significantly reducing costs
Innoviz Technologies is using Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) simulation solutions to successfully drive the technology behind their unique automotive-grade LiDAR sensor and achieve autonomy for their customers—while reducing development time and costs. Ansys enables Innoviz Technologies to meet their customers' objectives for durability, reliability, and affordability in a LiDAR design that is seamlessly integrable into Level 3-5 autonomous vehicles.
A study from the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found the majority of serious crashes are caused by human error, a statistic that is incentivizing autonomous vehicle development to improve safety on the road. Autonomous vehicles depend on the sensing capability of various components, including LiDARs, radars and cameras. LiDAR delivers the high-resolution, long-range 3D image perception needed to safely guide vehicle movement. The challenge for automotive manufacturers is that available LiDARs are not close to meeting industry standards for performance, size, reliability, and cost perception. Packaging these very complex optical sensor technologies tied to numerous systems presents challenges in both their production and operation.
The success of the team depended on simulation and testing of various aspects of LiDAR design and optics. Drawing on the power of Ansys multiphysics capabilities, Innoviz relied on Ansys® Mechanical™, Ansys® Fluent®, Zemax and Ansys® Maxwell® simulation software, working seamlessly together to successfully address LiDAR system complexity. Through extensive simulation and testing, an extreme integration of components into a single chip was accomplished requiring minimal design iterations and enabling a more compact LiDAR system. This high-performance, reliable LiDAR solution meets the necessary automotive performance characteristics and size requirements manufacturers are looking for at a much lower price point.
"We use many types of simulations in the Ansys ecosystem across the entire design chain of our product," said Oren Buskila, chief R&D officer and co-founder at Innoviz. "We rely on Ansys capabilities to run structural analysis to understand the stresses and temperature variations of our chips. We also use Ansys for dynamic simulation to understand vibration characteristics, and thermal simulation to see if we can dissipate the amount of power from the main components inside, like the laser. Ansys provides excellent simulation software and we value their experience in the automotive space to help us solve our biggest design challenges."
"Our vast simulation and growing multiphysics capabilities support exploration and discovery in advanced autonomous technologies," said Shane Emswiler, senior vice president of products at Ansys. "More complex optical applications like LiDARs require a higher degree of predictive accuracy in their execution. Our tools interface well, both inside and outside our product portfolio, to help our customers quickly move through design cycles with confidence. Simulation software is a game changer in the development of a new generation of more complex LiDAR systems that will accelerate autonomous vehicle adoption."
About Ansys
If you've ever seen a rocket launch, flown on an airplane, driven a car, used a computer, touched a mobile device, crossed a bridge or put on wearable technology, chances are you've used a product where Ansys
software played a critical role in its creation. Ansys is the global leader in engineering simulation. Through our strategy of Pervasive Engineering Simulation, we help the world's most innovative companies deliver radically better products to their customers. By offering the best and broadest portfolio of engineering simulation software, we help them solve the most complex design challenges and create products limited only by imagination. Founded in 1970, Ansys is headquartered south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Visit www.ansys.com for more information.
Ansys and any and all ANSYS, Inc. brand, product, service and feature names, logos and slogans are registered trademarks or trademarks of ANSYS, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States or other countries. All other brand, product, service and feature names or trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Japan's Largest Construction Company, Obayashi, Selects Innoviz's LiDAR for its New Proprietary Automatic Tower Crane System
December 17 2021 - 12:55PM, PR Newswire (US)
https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NASDAQ/innoviz-technologies-INVZ/stock-news/86844530/japans-largest-construction-company-obayashi-sel
TEL AVIV, Israel and TOKYO, Dec. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Innoviz Technologies (Nasdaq: INVZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state LiDAR sensors, and Obayashi Corporation (TYO: 1802), a major Japanese construction company, today announced Obayashi's development of an automated tower crane system that utilizes Innoviz's LiDAR sensors. Obayashi's automated tower crane system is part of its recently announced autonomous solutions for excavation equipment, construction of concrete dams and backhoe loaders.
Obayashi Construction Crane in Japan
Obayashi began using Innoviz's LiDAR on their sites in 2018 and is currently in the process of developing a full-scale system for building sites throughout Japan. Obayashi's recognition software extracts the data generated by Innoviz's LiDAR to measure the exact distance from objects and identify people and equipment in construction areas. Obayashi's system uses the data to send a series of step-by-step warnings to the crane operator, which enhances safety and enables a more streamlined and efficient process. Using Innoviz's LiDAR together with Obayashi's proprietary software has resulted in substantial savings related to the manual operation of the crane.
Obayashi's engineering team said: "Obayashi has been testing Innoviz's products for three years now, and we have great confidence in the company's solutions. We are very satisfied with Innoviz's LiDAR performance, reliability, and durability."
Omer Keilaf, Co-founder and CEO of Innoviz Technologies, commented: "We were thrilled to see the result of Obayashi's use of our LiDAR. This is a cutting-edge solution and a true testimony that our LiDAR can be used in a significant number of use cases. We believe we will see more partnerships like this come to fruition. Additionally, we're grateful to our distributor and partner, Macnica, for connecting us with Obayashi's innovative team."
Innoviz is represented in Japan by Macnica, the country's largest distribution company.
About Obayashi Corporation
Obayashi Corporation was established in 1892 and is one of the five super general contractors in Japan. Its main business is construction, including regional development, urban development, resource and energy development, and environmental development, as well as civil engineering, including research, surveying, planning, devising, design, and supervision. The company has approximately 15,000 employees and 21 offices in 14 countries. The company has a high level of technology backed by history and tradition, and actively introduces new technologies. For more information on Obayashi's autonomous solutions, please click here.
www.obayashi.co.jp
About Macnica, Inc.
Since its establishment in 1972, Macnica has been providing leading-edge semiconductors, electronic devices, networking and cyber security products with added technological value. In recent years, Macnica has been developing new businesses in the fields of AI/IoT, automated driving, and robotics, based on its traditional strengths of global sourcing of cutting-edge technologies and technology planning. The company is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and conducts global business based on 85 offices in 23 countries around the world. For more information, please visit Macnica's website at www.macnica.com.
About Innoviz Technologies
Innoviz is a global leader in LiDAR technology, working towards a future with safe autonomous vehicles on the world's roads. Innoviz's LiDAR and perception software "see" better than a human driver and reduce the possibility of error, meeting the automotive industry's strictest expectations for performance and safety. Operating across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Innoviz has been elected both by an internationally-recognized premium car brand for use in consumer vehicles as well as by other commercial and industrial leaders for a wide range of use cases. For more information, visit www.innoviz.tech.
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Media Contact
Innoviz Technologies
Media@innoviz-tech.com
Investor Contact
Maya Lustig
Innoviz Technologies
+972 54 677 8100
Investors@innoviz-tech.com
Macnica
Sales : sue-r@macnica.co.jp
Innoviz: LiDAR Sensors Driving Growth
Shalu Sara, Dec 16, 2021, 07:01 AM
https://www.tipranks.com/news/article/innoviz-lidar-sensors-driving-growth?utm_source=advfn.com&utm_medium=referral
Innoviz Technologies (NASDAQ:INVZ) is an Israeli technology firm that makes light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors for autonomous vehicles.
InnovizOne and InnovizTwo are solid-state LiDAR sensors built exclusively for automotive applications by Innoviz. They’re tough, light, and suitable with Level 3-5 self-driving cars.
In April, the firm went public through a SPAC merger in order to generate fresh funds from investors searching for innovative options in the advanced automotive sector.
Strong LiDAR Market Growth
In recent years, LiDAR technology has become a critical sensor for producers of self-driving cars and vehicles with advanced driver assist systems (ADAS), as it helps to ensure their safety.
According to a report from MarketsandMarkets, the LiDAR market is expected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2021 to $3.4 billion in 2026.
The need for LiDAR is expected to rise in the near future as more vehicles are equipped with ADAS or, possibly, autonomous highway driving capabilities.
Given the stupendous growth in this market, Innoviz is sure to gain from it.
Growth Catalysts
Innoviz’s rising presence in the LIDAR industry, bolstered by its unique product range and constant efforts to win new contracts, should act as major catalysts.
Last month, the business announced a partnership with JueFX, an AI-driven technology firm, to deploy InnovizOne LiDAR on traffic poles and bridges to monitor traffic behavior in real-time.
The latest agreement should strengthen Innoviz’s foothold in the LIDAR market.
Innoviz recently released its 3Q21 earnings, which showed a 106% rise in overall revenues from the year-ago quarter. On the cash front, the company’s cash position climbed to $324.6 million in the third quarter, up from $58.0 million in the year-ago quarter.
Aside from that, the quarterly report served as a reminder to investors that Innoviz is working hard to maintain its position as the industry’s top LiDAR provider. Indeed, the company showed continued progress on key automotive programs.
Furthermore, Innoviz CEO Omer Keilaf expressed optimism about forming additional collaborations in the future.
He said, “As the global LiDAR market moves towards the convergence on multiple programs, Innoviz is uniquely positioned to secure new design wins due to our extensive automotive experience, our growing capabilities, and our portfolio of products.”
Wall Street’s Take
Turning to Wall Street, the stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on 3 unanimous Buys assigned in the past three months. Meanwhile, the average Innoviz price target of $10 implies 63.7% upside potential to current levels.
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