Patents Uniquely Span Intelligent System
Architecture, Modular Hardware, and Software Underlying AEye’s
Adaptive LiDAR System
AEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIDR), the global leader in adaptive,
high-performance LiDAR solutions, today announced it has now filed
more than 100 patents spanning four continents and more than 10
countries. AEye’s latest patents and its extensive claims cover
several groundbreaking concepts that uniquely expand new
intelligent data collection, data quality, and extend AEye sensors
to deliver optical communication networking. Recently granted
patents also include a first-of-its kind optical data networking
patent which enables AEye to use the sensor laser as a secure data
carrier, opening up new business opportunities leveraging
integrated agile, reliable laser-based sensing, and
communications.
AEye’s unique, software-driven, intelligent LiDAR system, dubbed
iDAR™ (Intelligent Detection and Ranging), is an adaptive platform
that moves complexity from hardware to software. The high
performance, low cost system has a modular design and adapts
through software, enabling it to be easily optimized for any
market.
AEye’s patent portfolio can generally be organized into four
groups:
1. Intelligent Modular Architecture
This group of patents relate to AEye’s intelligent modular
bistatic architecture, system design, and its solid-state
performing MEMs-based agile LiDAR. While many other LIDARs process
in a linear or serial manner, AEye parallel processes using a
bistatic architecture. This approach allows AEye to transmit and
receive light out of separate paths, enabling the delivery of its
iDAR™ perception system and adaptive capabilities that power its
industry-leading range, resolution, refresh rates, agility and
intelligence. Equally important, AEye’s design allows for
flexibility in hardware packaging and vehicle placement options,
unlike some LiDAR sensors that are limited to roof placement. These
patents include protection of the overall architecture, of feedback
techniques to keep the scanning where desired during vehicle
vibration and temperature variation, as well as the ability to
control detection pulse width and receiver bandwidth.
2. Open System and Extended Data Capabilities
A second group of patents focus on AEye’s software definable AI
technology and iDAR’s ability to integrate other existing sensors,
such as radar, cameras, and IMUs. These patents address AEye’s
unique co-boresighted design, wherein an HD camera and LiDAR
receiver share the same optical axis, creating true color point
clouds which enhance classification capabilities and eliminate the
need for post-processing parallax correction. By co-boresighting
the camera with the LiDAR receiver, AEye moves intelligence into
the sensor. This enables the sensor to detect and immediately
request additional data about objects and anomalies, then issue
“fast path” priority message alerts to inform the motion planning
system. By pushing detected threats to the top of the data stack
under consideration by the motion planning system, AEye reduces
central processing burdens, and speeds time to reaction.
3. Enhanced Data Quality
The third group encompasses innovative features such as scan
agility, which enables the sensor to “acquire” pre-classification
attributes useful in accelerating perception systems. For example,
AEye is able to pinpoint intra frame velocity by capturing both
radial and lateral velocity, where most threats occur while
driving. These patents build a software-defined layer upon the
bistatic platform, and include the ability to optimize shot lists
as a function of scenes and environment, novel tracking schemes,
and tracking the horizon during car motion. The latter is an
important aspect of agility and intelligence, as it reduces the
required vertical scan field of view, and therefore reduces frame
to frame time. iDAR’s ability to enable software-defined frames and
dynamic scan patterns and the platform’s ability to deploy adaptive
energy control on a pulse-by-pulse basis enables both the dynamic
adjustment of scan patterns and the ability to adapt the laser
energy for each pulse for complete interference mitigation.
4. Optical Data Networking
The fourth group enables AEye to expand the capabilities of the
AEye sensor to enable the laser to communicate information. This
groundbreaking feature is uniquely enabled by AEye’s adaptive
LiDAR, in which the laser can be directed with precision. Pulsed
message packets enable data to be transferred via line-of-sight. By
using optical communications via the LiDAR system, AEye sensors can
leverage a readily available, secure and reliable communications
channel, which does not compete with the congested bandwidth of
WiFi, cellular, and/or satellite communications, to transmit,
receive, and/or transceive data.
“We set out to build a flexible architecture that could be
expanded and adapted over time, adding new innovations. Our IP
strategy, we believe, places us years ahead of others building
single use hardware,” said Dr. Allan Steinhardt, chief scientist at
AEye. “We will continue to push forward aggressively with
developing and protecting competitive intellectual property to
advance AEye’s technological leadership. We are creating a thorough
and rigorously defensible patent portfolio covering the
architecture and software that underlie our solution.”
AEye’s iDAR™ system has been independently verified to have
significant range, resolution, and speed performance advantages,
and is software-configurable to serve multiple markets, including
automotive, industrial, and mobility, with the same platform and
supply chain. The company has recently announced technology and/or
manufacturing partnerships with NVIDIA, Sanmina, Continental,
Benchmark, and TuSimple, as well as its expansion into the Japanese
and Korean markets as it prepares for volume production.
To get the latest AEye news and technology, sign up for the
company newsletter at aeye.ai/updates-sign-up/ or to see these many
of these latest innovations in action and to experience iDAR’s
record-breaking performance in real-time, visit
aeye.ai/demo-the-4sight-m.
About AEye
AEye is the premier provider of intelligent, next generation,
adaptive LiDAR for vehicle autonomy, advanced driver-assistance
systems (ADAS), and robotic vision applications. AEye’s iDAR™
(Intelligent Detection and Ranging) system leverages biomimicry and
principles from automated targeting applications used by the
military to scan the environment, intelligently focusing on what
matters most, enabling faster, more accurate, and more reliable
perception. iDAR is the only software configurable LiDAR with
integrated deterministic artificial intelligence, delivering
industry-leading performance in range, resolution, and speed. The
company was founded in 2013 and is based in the San Francisco Bay
Area.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release that are not
historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor
provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are sometimes
accompanied by words such as “believe,” “continue,” “project,”
“expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,”
“opportunity,” “predict,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,”
“potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “outlook,” and similar expressions
that predict or indicate future events or trends, or that are not
statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements are
predictions, projections, and other statements about future events
that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a
result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements
are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this
press release. These forward-looking statements are provided for
illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and
must not be relied on by an investor as a guarantee, an assurance,
a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability.
Actual events and circumstances are very difficult or impossible to
predict and will differ from the assumptions. Many actual events
and circumstances are beyond the control of AEye. Many factors
could cause actual future events to differ from the forward-looking
statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i)
the risks that any patent application that is filed by the Company
will result in an issued patent; (ii) the risks that any issued
patent will offer the intellectual property protection anticipated
by the Company, or any protection at all; (iii) the risks that
other patent holders may hold patents or have filed patent
applications in similar technology areas, in similar or other
geographies; (iv) the risks that any new business opportunities
will be available to the Company as anticipated or at all; (v) the
risks that the adaptive nature of the iDAR platform will be
accepted in the marketplace as anticipated by the Company, or at
all; (vi) the risks that the modular design will provide the high
performance anticipated by the Company; (vii) the risks that the
cost targeted by the Company can be achieved so as to be acceptable
by the marketplace; (viii) the risks that the Company’s products
can be optimized for its target markets, or any market; (ix) the
risks that the Company’s flexible architecture can be expanded and
adopted over time as anticipated by the Company; (x) the risks that
the Company will successfully develop competitive intellectual
property in the future; (xi) the risks that AEye will be unable to
achieve the necessary minimum levels of quality and reliability
required by the Company’s target markets and customers; (xii) the
risks that the Company will be unable to rapidly scale
manufacturing and meet the volume production needs required by the
Company’s target markets and customers; (xiii) the risk that lidar
adoption occurs slower than anticipated or fails to occur at all;
(xiv) the risk that the Company’s singular LiDAR system can be
optimized effectively and efficiently for multiple markets; (xv)
the risks that the Company will be unable to optimize its products
for both performance and cost within a reasonable time, or at all;
(xvi) the risk that AEye’s products will not meet the diverse range
of performance and functional requirements of AEye’s target markets
and customers; (xvii) the risk that AEye’s products will not
function as anticipated by AEye or by AEye’s target markets and
customers; (xviii) the risk that AEye may not be in a position to
adequately or timely address either the near or long-term
opportunities that may or may not exist in the evolving autonomous
transportation industry; (xix) the risk that laws and regulations
are adopted impacting the use of lidar that AEye is unable to
comply with, in whole or in part; (xx) changes in competitive and
regulated industries in which AEye operates, variations in
operating performance across competitors, and changes in laws and
regulations affecting AEye’s business; and (xxi) the risk of
downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in the highly
competitive and evolving industry in which AEye operates. These
risks and uncertainties may be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic,
which has caused significant economic uncertainty. The foregoing
list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider
the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties
described in the “Risk Factors” section of the registration
statement on Form S-4, that includes a definitive proxy
statement/prospectus, that AEye (formerly known as CF Finance
Acquisition Corp. III) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “SEC”) and other documents filed by AEye or that
will be filed by AEye from time to time with the SEC. These filings
identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual events and results to differ materially from
those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date they are made.
Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on
forward-looking statements; AEye assumes no obligation and does not
intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise. AEye gives no assurance that AEye will achieve any of
its expectations.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210921005466/en/
Media Contact: AEye, Inc. Jennifer Deitsch
jennifer@aeye.ai 925-400-4366
Investors: Financial Profiles, Inc. Matthew Keating, CFA
AEye@finprofiles.com 310-622-8230
John Brownell AEye@finprofiles.com 310-622-8489
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