Velodyne Lidar Debuts Alpha Prime™, the Most Advanced Lidar Sensor on the Market

November 15, 2019

Alpha Prime Delivers Unrivaled Combination of Field-of-View, Range, High-Resolution, Clarity and Operational Performance

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#velodynelidar—Velodyne Lidar, Inc. today introduced Alpha Prime™, the next generation lidar sensor utilizing Velodyne’s patented surround view technology to deliver the combined highest performance specifications for the autonomous mobility industry in one sensor. The sensor is an unmatched solution in perception, field-of-view and range for autonomous markets including transportation, trucking and robotics. Offering a new level of power efficiency, the Alpha Prime is available now for orders and delivery.

The Alpha Prime’s unique combination of breakthrough innovations allows vehicles to navigate in unfamiliar and dynamic settings. Its best-in-class capabilities help improve vehicle safety and enable more precise mapping. These include:

Superior field-of-view: 360-degree surround view perception and a 40-degree vertical field-of-view.
Outstanding performance in a wide variety of lighting conditions, including retro reflectors and sunlight mitigation.
Exceptional detection of dark or low reflectance objects at long distances, such as tires, dark vehicles, low reflectivity pavement and low visibility pedestrians.
Advanced negative obstacle perception, such as potholes and cracks in the road.
The highest resolution along with robust reflectivity returns from over 4.8 million points per second, simplifying detection and tracking of vehicles, pedestrians and other obstructions.
High resolution and laser calibration enable the sensor to easily localize vehicles — outdoors or indoors — without a GPS, for precise positioning.
Improved eﬃciency for extended vehicle operating time within broad temperature and environmental ranges without the need for active cooling.
Advanced sensor-to-sensor interference mitigation.
Automotive mass production options from multiple sources for qualified programs.

“Voyage has developed and deployed self-driving cars super-charged by Velodyne’s lidar technology for the past three years,” said Oliver Cameron, Voyage Co-Founder & CEO. “Our team is amazed by the advancements in the Alpha Prime and are continually impressed by Velodyne’s string of innovations.”

“The Alpha Prime is a significant step forward in enabling the advancement of the autonomous vehicle and robot industries,” said Anand Gopalan, Chief Technology Officer, Velodyne Lidar. “With its breadth of best-in-class features, the Alpha Prime is a marked advancement in sensor performance for real world conditions. Here at Velodyne, we take pride in listening to our customers and delivering innovative and high-performance products. We believe Velodyne’s versatility and agility extend our leadership status in the lidar business to empower autonomous solutions on a global scale.”

Velodyne provides world-class technical support for the sensor across North America, Europe, and Asia.

For full product specifications, please visit: https://velodynelidar.com/vls-128.html.

About Velodyne Lidar

Velodyne provides smart, powerful lidar solutions for autonomy and driver assistance. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Velodyne is known worldwide for its portfolio of breakthrough lidar sensor technologies. Velodyne’s Founder and CEO, David Hall, invented real-time surround view lidar systems in 2005 as part of Velodyne Acoustics. Mr. Hall’s invention revolutionized perception and autonomy for automotive, new mobility, mapping, robotics, and security. Velodyne’s high-performance product line includes a broad range of sensing solutions, including the cost-effective Puck™, the versatile Ultra Puck™, the autonomy-advancing Alpha Prime™, the ADAS-optimized Velarray™ and the groundbreaking software for driver assistance, Vella™.