and other countries restrict the power in the laser pulse, limiting the lidar’s range to 30 to 40 meters, too short a distance for a car to stop safely at highway speeds. But Russell is confident that Luminar's system will become the new standard, and he's not worried that everyone will soon be joining his race lane now that his company's plans are public.Current automotive lidars scan their surroundings by firing pulses from semiconductor diode lasers emitting at 905 nanometers in the near infrared and recording reflected light to build up a point cloud mapping the car’s surroundings. To do that, the college dropout's startup will have to overcome major incumbents like Velodne as well as another onslaught of software companies - like Google and Waymo - that have developed their own in-house Lidar systems. Our plan is to power every autonomous vehicle that’s produced and make them so they can truly be safe and autonomous "Our plan is to power every autonomous vehicle that’s produced and make them so they can truly be safe and autonomous," Russell said of his long-term vision. While Russell oversees the company's Silicon Valley office, a converted tank repair facility in Portola Valley, the majority of the company's 150 employees are based in its Orlando, Florida office, which contains both R&D headquarters and 50,000 square foot manufacturing facility.Įven though Luminar has stayed quiet for the last five years, it's already produced 100 units for its strategic partners, which include both unidentified automakers and software companies. Now, Luminar is ready to begin its first major commercial run of 10,000 units, set to be distributed among many customers instead of just putting it in the hands of a few. Luminar cofounder and CTO Jason Eichenholz (right) While many Lidars systems operate at a 905 nano-meter wavelength, Luminar is at a 1550 nano-meter wavelength, which means it can emit 68 photons for every single one put out on the traditional wavelength, making it more powerful but still safe for eyes. Instead, they spent the last five years designing a system from scratch.įor starters, the company eschewed traditional Lidar designs and build a new one on a different wavelength than traditional systems. Russell and Eichenholz claim Luminar can do all this because they're not using the same off-the-shelf parts as other Lidar companies. "You don't have to say everyone has to wear a white t-shirt," Eichenholz joked. That low-reflectivity number is key because objects like black cars and even people wearing black t-shirts can be harder to spot since the color is less reflective. Of those that can hit the 200 meter mark, Eichenholz says Luminar is in a class of its own because it can see objects with 10% reflectivity at that distance. Going highway speeds, that means a car equipped with Luminar's Lidar would have seven seconds of reaction time when it identifies an object at 200 meters compared to the typical few seconds most Lidar systems provide, Russell claims. While some manufacturers say they can produce a Lidar that sees out to 200 meters, most advertised models can't scan that far ahead. "We’re able to see seven seconds out instead of one second," Russell said. For Russell, being innovative meant having the patience to build a better Lidar that would not only advance an industry, but do it in a field that could save people's lives. His Thiel fellowship bio said he had a "passion for developing innovative optoelectronic technologies". When he got to Stanford University in 2013, venture capitalist Peter Thiel paid the then-18-year-old Russell $100,000 to drop out of school. In 2012, Russell founded Luminar and soon after started doing independent research at the Beckman Laser Institute. He memorized the periodic table by two, transformed a Nintendo game handset by the sixth grade, and made a holographic keyboard in high school.
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