With the ever-increasing interest in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles, adopting Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) is an important decision to reach higher vehicle autonomy and better safety. The lidar market for automotive applications will grow to US$8.4 billion by 2033, according to IDTechEx report “Lidar 2023-2033: Technologies, Players, Markets & Forecasts”.
Lidar appeared shortly after the invention of laser and has been used for ranging in multiple applications for decades. The innovation of lidar beam steering technologies made 3D landscape mapping and scanning easier, enabling machines, including automotive and robots, to acquire a precise 3D map of the world with depth information. This function of 3D lidar can make automotive reach higher autonomy, offering complementary information in addition to providing redundancy to realize better safety. The huge demand and investment of the automotive industry can also speed up lidar development and cost reduction, helping them to be cheaply manufactured and widely adopted in wider application areas with a potentially huge quantity.
Different from other sensors such as cameras, radars, or ultrasonic systems, lidars have relatively immature technology, higher price, an unestablished supply chain, and an ever-changing market landscape. The rapidly evolving lidar technologies and markets leave many uncertain questions to answer. The technology landscape is cluttered with numerous options for every component in a lidar system. For instance, the combinations of the different ranging measurement processes, laser types, beam steering mechanisms, photodetector choices, wavelength options, and optical path possibilities make a massive number of possible lidar technologies and corresponding products. Some technologies are easier to be realized, less difficult to pass the automotive grade, and potentially lead to a cheaper manufacturing cost, while others can be the opposite.
The market landscape is also evolving rapidly, with a few companies that have gone public via SPAC merger, some have ceased their business and more established partnerships with tier-1 and OEMs in various areas.
Following a period of dedicated research by expert analysts, IDTechEx published a report which offers unique insights into the global 3D lidar technology landscape and corresponding market. The report contains a comprehensive analysis of 95 players developing 3D lidar for the ADAS and autonomous vehicles market, which includes a detailed assessment of technology innovations and market dynamics. While the market analysis and forecasts focus on the automotive industry, the technology analysis and company profiles also cover lidar for industrial automation, robotics, smart city, security, and mapping. Importantly, the report presents an unbiased analysis of primary data gathered via our interviews with key players, and it builds on our expertise in the transport, electronics, and photonics sectors.
