Lumotive sees first industrial design win with Hokuyo 3D lidar

The multi-year deal with Lumotive marks the first commercial use of the technology for a 3D lidar sensor in industrial designs. Hokuyo is using Lumotive’s M30 reference design for industrial applications such as Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV), Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR), and other industrial applications.

As part of the partnership, Hokuyo is using Lumotive’s manufacturing partners and engineering expertise to bring the advanced sensing products to market faster

Lumotive’s patented manufacturing techniques are based on well-established manufacturing technology at Tower Semiconductor for the first solid-state metasurface beam steering chips ready for mass production.

Lumotive-enabled solid-state 3D lidar sensors bring revolutionary advantages to real-world industrial automation. The large field of view and extended range in a compact form factor allows for seamless integration into machinery and can be used in outdoor industrial sites or warehouses with challenging lighting conditions. A software-defined scan modes enable customization to specific tasks, such as precise object tracking on production lines or efficient navigation for AMRs. The system’s ability to minimize interference and multipath effects results in better point cloud quality, which is crucial for accurate sensing in complex industrial environments. 

“We are impressed with Lumotive’s LCM optical semiconductor technology and believe that it will be a game-changer for the industrial automation market,” said Hokuyo’s President, Hitoshi Ozaki. “Lumotive’s product delivers a new level of miniaturization, performance and reliability, which will enable us to expand our business with innovative 3D sensing solutions that could not be realized with conventional lidar scanning technology. We look forward to working with Lumotive to bring these solutions to market.”

“Securing a design win of this stature is a notable accomplishment, and we are eager to move forward with Hokuyo Automatic in incorporating our LCM technology into our first industrial automation application,” said Dr. Sam Heidari, CEO of Lumotive.

“Hokuyo Automatic’s expertise in industrial automation and sensor technology makes them an ideal partner to accelerate the adoption of our ground-breaking LCM semiconductor technology. This production supply agreement marks an important milestone for Lumotive, and we look forward to working closely with them to bring advanced 3D sensing solutions to the robotics and autonomous systems markets.”

Metasurface materials can be used for a range of applications with nanostructures replacing optical lenses or redirecting wireless signals.