GM Buys LiDAR Tech Company Strobe

Compared to a lot of other automakers, it seems like GM really wants to make sure it capitalizes on the inevitable autonomous revolution. Not only did it buy the driverless tech startup Cruise Automation, it followed up that purchase with a $14 million investment in a new R&D facility. Cruise’s fleet of self-driving Chevrolet Bolts is currently testing on the crowded streets of San Francisco, a move that GM believes will help it bring autonomous cars to market faster. Today, GM took another step forward by purchasing Strobe, a light detection and ranging technology company.

In autonomous cars, LiDAR uses lasers to scan the environment, creating a 3D rendering that gives the car a better understanding of the world than it could get using only cameras or radar. That’s why it’s an important part of making self-driving cars a reality. And by buying a company that already builds LiDAR technology, GM could bring autonomous technology to market faster than if it developed its own tech from scratch.

In a Medium blog post, Cruise Automation chief Kyle Vogt explained the benefits of partnering with Strobe. “Strobe’s new chip-scale LIDAR technology will significantly enhance the capabilities of our self-driving cars. But perhaps more importantly, by collapsing the entire sensor down to a single chip, we’ll reduce the cost of each LIDAR on our self-driving cars by 99%,” Vogt said.

Julie Schoenfeld, head of Strobe, is also optimistic that the company’s technology can help GM speed up its deployment of autonomous cars. “The successful deployment of self-driving vehicles will be highly dependent on the availability of LIDAR sensors,” said Schoenfeld. “Strobe’s deep engineering talent and technology backed by numerous patents will play a significant role in helping GM and Cruise bring these vehicles to market sooner than many think.”

While full automation is still a long way off, Cadillac recently began offering its Super Cruise driver assistance system on the CT6, a Level 3 system that even bests Tesla’s Autopilot 2.0 on the highway. But when GM’s autonomous car tech is finally ready for production, expect it to first appear on self-driving Lyfts.

Source: GM

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