Pioneer Corp. and its subsidiary Pioneer Smart Sensing Innovations Corp. (PSSI) have developed a mass-production model of a 3D-LiDAR sensor, which offers an extended measurement distance and improved performance despite its compact size.

The sensor is expected to be used by autonomous vehicles (level-three and higher autonomous vehicles.) It will be released in first half of FY2020 and will enter full-scale production from autumn 2020.

3D-LiDAR sensors use laser light to detect and accurately measure the distance of objects and they can ascertain three-dimensional information related to the surrounding environment in real-time. Pioneer and PSSI have been providing various companies with verification models. This latest 3D-LiDAR sensors has adopted the Micro Electric Memory Systems (MEMS) mirror-based scanning method. In addition to offering a high resolution, it has a 80% smaller size than Pioneer's 2018 model, and it also covers 1.5 to 2 times longer distance. The device uses three types of sensors featuring different angles of view and measurement distances.

Pioneer is also offering software that allows the devices to be used for object detection, vehicle position estimation and other applications.

In addition, Pioneer and PSSI say that the new 3D-LiDAR can be also used in other applications, such as security and traffic monitoring.