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The power of FMCW LiDAR + scale: why acquiring ours LiDAR unlocks the commercialization of the Aurora driver

There are some undeniable truths in life: death, taxes, and the fact that you can’t pursue self-driving vehicles if you don’t have lidar that has long-range sensing capabilities and a cost-effective way to scale.

When we acquired Blackmore in 2019, we said it would be a gamechanger for our ability to pursue autonomous trucking because FMCW lidar allows us to see further and faster than ever before. (Long-range sensing? Check!) Since then, we have moved quickly to deploy our trucks in Texas, outfitted with Aurora’s FirstLight Lidar, which allows us to see well beyond 300 meters, measures velocity instantaneously, and is interference-free. Plus, it’s purpose-built to meet the needs of the Aurora Driver, on Aurora’s timeline.

We focused on performance first, and now it’s time to scale. As we look to expand our fleet and commercialize our driverless trucks, FirstLight Lidar must be increasingly scalable—it needs to be smaller and less expensive, but just as powerful. To make that happen, we’re excited to announce that we’re acquiring OURS Technology, a lidar-on-a-chip company that will help us do just that. (Scalability? Check!) And in addition to their cutting-edge tech, we look forward to having their team join Aurora!

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