Under a new production collaboration, Aeva will supply its latest Atlas automotive grade 4D lidar technology to Daimler Truck and collaborate with Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck, to enable SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle capabilities beginning with the Class 8 Freightliner Cascadia truck platform. Daimler Truck intends to integrate the lidar sensors directly in its production process, making it easy for customers to buy autonomous ready trucks directly out of its manufacturing plants without the need for sensors to be retrofitted. Torc in turn will sell its virtual driver technology and supporting Mission Control services as a subscription to customers. Its driving software will use Aeva’s perception software, built around Aeva’s instant velocity data, to detect objects faster, further away, and with higher accuracy. The multi-year collaboration begins in the first quarter of 2024 with Aeva’s start of production by 2026 and Daimler Truck production ramp by 2027.

While traditional lidar sensors use laser pulses to sense distances to objects, Aeva’s unique frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW), 4D lidar technology uses a low power continuous laser beam to simultaneously measure range and velocity for every point. This enables automated vehicles to unlock new levels of safety and vehicle automation by instantaneously discriminating between static and dynamic points and knowing the precise velocity of dynamic objects.

Joanna Buttler, head of global autonomous technology group at Daimler Truck: “Daimler Truck is committed to leading the industry’s advancement toward autonomous trucks. Selecting the right lidar technology is a crucial strategic decision to safely deploy autonomous trucks on the road. We are convinced that Aeva with its cutting edge and reliable technology is the right production partner for lidar sensors and has the manufacturing capabilities to scale along with us. Today’s announcement therefore represents a key puzzle piece on our path towards commercialization. Together with Torc, we are well on track to offer autonomous trucks to the US market by 2027.”

Peter Vaughan Schmidt, CEO at Torc Robotics adds: “Aeva is pioneering the commercialization of FMCW lidar technology, a key differentiator for long range detection and object identification. This means Torc’s virtual driving software can now rely on significantly higher resolution as well as farther and clearer detection of objects plus instant velocity detection, which are crucial to safely deploy autonomous trucks at scale. We have been working closely with the Aeva team over the past few years and we are excited about the real-world performance that Aeva’s technology has already demonstrated to help us solve some of the most challenging highway-speed use cases.”

Daimler Truck and Torc have made significant progress in turning autonomous trucks from an idea into reality, running extensive and successful on-road test programs as well as first customer pilots. To maximize the safety of autonomous trucks, Daimler Truck and Torc’s trucks are equipped with sensor sets from a combination of three technologies, namely state-of-the-art lidar, radar and camera technology. This enables safe handling adapted to the respective situation on highways, surface roads and ramps as well as when turning at controlled intersections.

The selection represents Aeva’s first major automotive OEM production design win and is the result of multiple years of extensive collaboration and qualification with Daimler Truck, Torc Robotics and Daimler Truck North America.

“Daimler Truck is one of the most reputable commercial vehicle OEMs in the world. Our partnership with them and Torc Robotics is trailblazing the next era of commercial trucking, with safe, autonomous trucks that will revolutionize the industry as we know it,” said Soroush Salehian, co-founder and CEO at Aeva. “We are pleased to be selected for this major production supplier awarding and it is a testament to the hard work, innovation and tenacity of the entire Aeva team as we cross another critical milestone in Aeva’s path to leading the industry with our unique FMCW technology and perception solution.” (Source: Daimler Truck)

Further reading: AI-based self-driving perception – Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG and a pioneer in commercializing self-driving vehicle technology, acquires Algolux for its award-winning..., wileyindustrynews.com, 27 April 2023