The primary use case for lidar will undoubtedly be the automotive sector, where millions of vehicles stand to be integrated with the sensors for automated driving and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
However, lidar has been finding its way into numerous other markets that can use perception and 3D mapping that the technology affords. According to ABI Research, the installed base of lidar sensors outside of the automotive market is forecast to reach 16 million units by 2030. In 2021, use cases for lidar exploded as companies found the technology could be used to help robots to see, smart cities to people count or help with traffic situations, indoor mapping, industrial verticals and the internet of things (IoT).
Quanergy Systems Inc. said it gained 1,000 orders for its lidar sensors in the fourth quarter of 2021 for a broad range of IoT applications.
The company said the orders went to several IoT markets such as those providing advanced security for critical infrastructures, next generation people counting and flow management for smart spaces and smart cities, and precise object detection and collision avoidance for industrial automation applications.
Bin Liu, president of Shanghai Wise said it is using Quanergy lidar solutions to detect height limitations and to do volumetric measurement for flow management and people counting to reduce long lines in retail, gyms and other public spaces.
“We also help various customers improve their overall operational safety by identifying and tracking authorized operators in dangerous operations zones,” Liu said.
Likewise, the company Suffice is using lidar to help its industrial customers build fully automated operation systems in factories, container ports, bulk materials ports and more. It is also using lidar sensors for robotics and drone mapping applications.
Additionally, Quanergy believes lidar will increasingly become disruptive in the security market for critical infrastructure.
“Having worked in high security environments for many years I realized that flooding a site with cameras overloads the people in the control rooms and there had to be a smarter way,” said Mark O’Reilly, head of innovation at Quanergy. “Being able to reduce the distractions from false alarms and understand where people are, their velocity and what they’re doing allows you to provide a security solution that people feel confident in using.”
