AEye named as finalists for the “Most Exciting Start-Up” category at the AutoSens Awards 2018. They are in the running to lift the trophy along with Hailo Tech, Metamoto, May Mobility, Arbe Robotics and Ouster. A big idea, a dynamic proposition, a brave business model or a firebrand leader – the Most Exciting Start-up award recognises the panel’s view of the most complete package, the genuine intent to create a business, change the world and be known as a force for change in a single small company of motivated, passionate people.
Last year’s inaugural AutoSens Awards was a tremendous success, with winners including start-ups, individuals and electronics and automotive giants, representing a thriving industrial ecosystem doing some of the most exciting technology development the world has ever seen.
“We are honored to be named one of the most exciting startups in the automotive imaging sector. Our pioneering breakthroughs in intelligent sensing are changing the way all robots, big and small, perceive the environment, and we are delighted to be recognized for our work in advancing safe, reliable vehicle autonomy.” comments Luis Dussan, AEye founder and CEO. He continues, “AEye’s approach to autonomous vision is truly exciting and disruptive. We have put intelligence at the sensor layer, enabling the sensor to dynamically assess and prioritize what’s most relevant in a scene, then process this data at the edge. This approach, which enables rapid, dynamic perception & path planning, is unique, and it’s a game-changer which will radically improve autonomous vehicle safety and performance.”
This spring AEye introduced a new, real-time sensor data type that enables autonomous vehicles to better perceive their surroundings and respond accordingly. “Dynamic Vixels” combine pixels from digital 2D cameras with voxels from AEye’s Agile 3D LiDAR sensor into a single super-resolution sensor data type that can be dynamically controlled and optimized at the point of data acquisition. “By designing a perception system that more intelligently acquires and adapts data, AEye is is helping autonomous vehicles obtain more accurate, longer range and more intelligent information faster, for enhanced safety. The result has been gathering 7-10x more relevant Information with 16x Greater Coverage, using 2-5x less system power.” reported Rob Stead, Awards Director and member of the judging panel at the AutoSens Awards.
AEye has also been granted foundational patents for its core solid-state MEMs-based agile LiDAR and embedded AI technology. The patents are core to AEye’s iDAR™perception system. They include 350 claims covering AEye inventions ranging from a unique approach to dynamic scan and shot pattern for LiDAR transmissions to the ability to control and shape each laser pulse and methods for interrogating each voxel within a point cloud. The patents safeguard AEye’s creation of the world’s first intelligent agile LiDAR – which allows AEye’s system to dynamically control frame pattern, pulse tuning, pulse shaping, pulse energy and other critical dimensions that enable embedded AI.
As a company, AEye’s core values are integrity, innovation & creativity, and a quest to change the world by bringing cutting-edge science to new markets. As a world-class team from leading military institutions and technology companies, they are very focused on performance – specifically delivering military-grade performance in autonomous cars. CEO and founder, Luis Dussan used to design surveillance, reconnaissance and defense systems for fighter jets. With critical missions and pilots’ lives at stake, military aircraft perception systems had three requirements: they could never miss anything, they had to do everything in real-time, and they required an understanding that objects are not created equally, thus require different levels of attention.
AEye have brought this same mindset to self-driving vehicles, and designed a system that can see, classify and respond to an object – whether it’s a parked car or a child crossing the street – in real-time and before it’s too late. Their system perceives like a person, but thinks like a robot — and is tuned for optimal performance.
Luis Dussan, AEye founder and CEO shares what winning an AutoSens Awards would mean to them. “This award would be further recognition of AEye’s truly disruptive approach to vehicle perception. Never before has intelligence been added to the sensor layer, and it has the potential to greatly impact how cars perceive their surroundings. It is the best example to-date of how the human visual cortex operates – instinctively focusing in on relevant information, while providing lesser attention to general surroundings.”
