Stellantis will use Valeo's third-generation Scala lidar

According to foreign media reports, Valeo will supply its third-generation Scala lidar to Stellantis, so that the latter can achieve Level 3 autonomous driving in its models starting in 2024.

Valeo and Stellantis did not provide financial details of the contract or which models would feature the system, but Stellantis said the system would appear on "multiple models" across its brands.The second-generation Scala system has already been used in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the first model to receive a Level 3 autonomous driving license on European motorways.

When using Level 3 autonomous driving systems, drivers can divert their attention from driving tasks to other activities, such as checking email or watching a movie, but they must be prepared to take over control of the vehicle again when the vehicle needs to take over.

Image credit: Valeo

Most autonomous driving systems use a combination of radar, cameras and lidar.Lidar emits light pulses from a laser at millions of times per second, which bounce off objects and return to the sensor.The onboard computer can use these pulses to create a three-dimensional map of the vehicle's surroundings.It has certain advantages over the camera, especially faster processing.And it's not affected by surface materials, shadows, sunlight, or the lights of nearby vehicles like a camera.

Stellantis previously said that they will work with BMW to provide "hands-off, eyes-off" L3 autonomous driving, which the company calls "STLA AutoDrive", by 2024.After 2024, Stellantis will offer Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous driving systems that will be used in "mobility-as-a-service" scenarios, such as autonomous ride-hailing services.

Valeo said the company is the largest supplier of automotive 3D scanning lidar systems, having produced and sold 170,000 integrated units to date.The company will manufacture the third-generation Scala system at its plant in Wemding, Germany, near Munich.Valeo can provide the hardware, software and accompanying artificial intelligence for the system.

Valeo said the next-generation Scala lidar, which will begin commercializing in 2024, has a 12-fold increase in resolution, a 3-fold increase in range, the ability to see objects up to 200 meters away, and a field of view 2.5 times wider than current systems. .

Valeo expects the rapid development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving in the next few years, and says the automotive lidar market will triple between 2025 and 2030, eventually reaching a global market size of 50 billion euros.