Luminar co-founder and CEO Austin Russell says it is “absolutely incredible” and “totally surreal” to become a billionaire at age 25. And he did that, although Elon Musk calls the deal-sensing technology used by Luminar, a “stupid” solution for autonomous driving.
Source: Luminar
One of China’s largest automakers, SAIC Motor, plans to use deal sensors and software made by Luminar Technologies to enable autonomous features in a new line of “R-brand” vehicles, the companies announced on Thursday.
Luminar’s LIDAR sensors work by reflecting the laser beams from surfaces and objects around a vehicle, quickly generating a 3D point map that the vehicle’s on-board computers can read. The handle sensors work in conjunction with cameras, radar and other systems to allow the car to perceive and avoid other vehicles, pedestrians and road hazards while navigating.
SAIC plans to have R-brand vehicles in series production in China in 2022, integrating Luminar sensors and Sentinel software.
Luminar CEO Austin Russell told CNBC that the companies’ long-term plan is to standardize the system so that it can be included in a wide range of SAIC vehicles. SAIC’s brands include MG, Roewe and Maxus.
According to the SAIC website in English, the company aims to export 1.5 million of its vehicles beyond China by 2025, including to European markets.
Like other automakers in China, SAIC is facing pressure from high-tech start-ups like Nio and Xpeng, and from electric vehicle maker Tesla, which fully entered the Chinese market in 2020 after establishing its own factory in Shanghai.
SAIC is lagging behind in automated driver systems, but it has done well in the affordable electric vehicle segment thanks in large part to the company’s participation in a joint venture with GM and Wuling.
The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV sold about 57,000 electric vehicles – the base model sold for less than $ 5,000 – in the first two months of this year, according to a survey by JL Warren Capital. The company’s founder and CEO, Junheng Li, told CNBC via email: “The Hongguang Mini was launched last August and has since been the best-selling EV model in China. That means SAIC-GM-Wuling had 22% market share of the new energy vehicle market in China in January and February. “
Luminar CEO Russell told CNBC that he believes his company’s technology and software can help SAIC outperform competitors in advanced driver assistance as well.
“The autonomous vehicle industry is stuck in R&D mode – because it is critical to getting the development right. Now that we are getting started, we expect SAIC to be the first with a tier 3 to 4 passenger car on the highways in the China.”
SAE International, a professional association for engineers, categorizes vehicle automation by levels. With your definitions in mind, a Level 3 or 4 passenger car would be safe for hands-free driving for some purposes and in some places or conditions – for example, a passenger car, in normal road traffic and weather.
Luminar went public in December through a merger with SPAC. It is scheduled to release results for the entire year and the fourth quarter of 2020 on the Thursday after the bell. The shares of the LIDAR experts increased sharply on their first day of trading. The stock closed on Wednesday at $ 27.46.