Velodyne Inc.

Velodyne LiDAR Inc.
Private
Industry LiDAR, Acoustics
Founded 1983
Headquarters Morgan Hill, CA, United States
Key people
 David Hall, CEO
Mike Jellen, President
Products LiDAR, headphones, subwoofers
Number of employees
 89
Website www.velodynelidar.com

Velodyne is the name of a trio of Silicon Valley-based technology companies focused on audio equipment (Velodyne Acoustics), LiDAR (Velodyne LiDAR), and marine solutions (Velodyne Marine).

Company History

David Hall founded Velodyne in 1983 as an audio company specializing in low-frequency sound and subwoofer technology. In 2012, Velodyne added a line of headphones to their offerings. Starting in 2007, Velodyne expanded into LiDAR technology.

Audio

David Hall founded Velodyne in 1983 as an audio company specializing in low-frequency sound and subwoofer technology. In 2012, Velodyne added a line of headphones to their product line, starting with the release of the vPulse in-ear headphones. Velodyne currently offers a number of audio products ranging from subwoofers to headphones. The vPulse headphones are rated as the best headphones available for under $100 according to CNET.com.

LiDAR

Velodyne's experience with laser distance measurement started in the 2005 with the DARPA Grand Challenge sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). A race for autonomous vehicles across the Mojave desert, DARPA's goal was to stimulate autonomous vehicle technology development for both military and commercial applications. Velodyne founders David and Bruce Hall entered the competition as Team DAD (Digital Audio Drive), traveling 6.2 miles in the first event and 25 miles in the second. Team DAD developed technology for visualizing the environment, first using a dual video camera approach and later developing the laser-based system that laid the foundation for Velodyne's current LiDAR products. The first Velodyne LiDAR scanner was about 30 inches in diameter and weighed close to 100 lbs. Choosing to commercialize the LiDAR scanner instead of competing in subsequent challenge events, Velodyne was able to dramatically reduce the sensor's size and weight while also improving performance. Velodyne's HDL-64E LiDAR sensor was the primary means of terrain map construction and obstacle detection for all the top DARPA Urban Challenge teams in 2007 and used by five out of six of the finishing teams, including the winning and second-place teams. Some teams relied exclusively on the LiDAR for the information about the environment used to navigate an autonomous vehicle through a simulated urban environment.[1]

Since 2007, Velodyne LiDAR has focused on applications of LiDAR technology for use in autonomous vehicles, vehicle safety systems, 3D mobile mapping, 3D aerial mapping and security. The company evolved after founder-inventor David Hall competed in the 2004–05 DARPA Grand Challenge using stereovision technology.[2]

In 2010, Google tested self-driving cars on the streets in the Bay Area using Velodyne’s LiDAR technology.[3]

In 2012, Velodyne LiDAR signed a contract with Caterpillar for the supply of LiDARs to be used for off-road vehicles.[4]

2012-2015, Velodyne's spinning HDL-32E have been seen on mobile mapping vehicles by Nokia Here,[5] Microsoft Bing Maps,[6] Tencent,[7] Baidu, TomTom[8] and Apple's[9] mapping vans. Leading mapping providers like Topcon[10] and Leica Geo-systems[11] have chosen Velodyne's scanners for their turnkey mobile solutions.

In 2015, Market research firm Frost & Sullivan honored the company and the VLP-16 with its 2015 North American Automotive ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) Sensors Product Leadership Award.[12]

In 2016, Ford Motor Company announced that it will expand its fleet of self-driving R&D vehicles and use Velodyne LiDAR's next-generation Solid State Hybrid LiDAR Pucks.[13]

In 2016, Velodyne's LiDAR department was spun off from Velodyne Acoustics as Velodyne LiDAR, Inc.

On August 16, 2016, Velodyne announced a $150M investment from Ford and Baidu.[14]

Velodyne LiDAR sensors are on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. in the museum's permanent robotics collection.[15]

Marine

In 2009, Velodyne turned its attention to Marine technology. Velodyne Marine System's main product is an active stabilization aid for yachts and commercial boats.

References

  1. ↑ "Robots, start your engines". SFGate. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  2. ↑ Engines of change, , Government Computer News, 2007.
  3. ↑ Guizzo, Erico (2011-10-18). "How Google's Self-Driving Car Works". spectrum.ieee.org. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  4. ↑ "Velodyne's LiDAR Division Announces Agreement With Caterpillar for Laser Imaging Technology | Virtual-Strategy Magazine". www.virtual-strategy.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  5. ↑ http://photos.mercurynews.com/2015/07/28/photos-here-a-nokia-company-has-global-fleet-of-cars-for-3d-street-mapping/#1
  6. ↑ "Velodyne LiDAR to Provide HDL-32E Sensor for Bing Maps Imagery | SPAR 3D". SPAR 3D. 2014-10-28. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  7. ↑ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  8. ↑ Kastrenakes, Jacob (2015-07-27). "TomTom is now making maps for autonomous vehicles". The Verge. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  9. ↑ Bergen, Mark (2015-10-27). "Meet the Companies Building Self-Driving Cars for Google and Tesla (And Maybe Apple)". Re/code. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  10. ↑ https://www.topconpositioning.com/news-events/news/product-news/topcon-announces-next-generation-3-d-mobile-mapping-system
  11. ↑ "Pegasus:Backpack, Leica's Wearable Scanner | SPAR 3D". SPAR 3D. 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  12. ↑ "Frost & Sullivan Awards CyPhy Investor, Velodyne LiDAR :: Unmanned Aerial Online". unmanned-aerial.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  13. ↑ "Ford Tripling Autonomous Vehicle Development Fleet, Accelerating On-Road Testing of Sensors and Software | Ford Media Center". media.ford.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  14. ↑ "Ford, Baidu bet $150M on Velodyne laser radar". Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  15. ↑ Smithsonian Adds to Robotics Collection and Invites Public to National Robotics Week Activities in Spark!Lab, , Smithsonian Natural Museum of American History, 2011.
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