Lidar maker Luminar Technologies has been selected by Nvidia for the sensor suite in the autonomous vehicle reference platform. It is a big deal for Luminar and clearly indicates that it is going to be a strong player in autonomous driving technology. The announcement about the selection was made by Luminar. This has resulted in an increase of around 50 per cent in its stock. This is because of reports that the two companies will create almost USD 40 billion in market value. Lidar is gaining popularity as several autonomous vehicle companies believe that laser based radar is key for technology in near future.
The laser based technology of the company provides self-driving cars a way to see far down the road. The data that the lidar provides need to be understood and processed by the computer of the self-driving vehicles. This is where the use of Nvidia becomes important. Products developed by Nvidia are essential in providing computing to autonomous vehicles. It is pertinent to mention that these hardware are a very essential part of self-driving vehicles. With Nvidia joining hands with Luminar, it will become a complete package for companies. These technologies can be a bane for carmakers.
“The partnership with Luminar is definitely going to bolster the ecosystem carmakers. Our focus is to build the best technologies. These technologies will drive the autonomous vehicle industry,” said Gary Hicok. Gary is the senior vice president of Nvidia. Also, it is a compliment for a startup to be so important for Nvidia. The technology startup is fulfilling the requirements of Nvidia and this is nothing less than an achievement for the company. Luminar CEO Austin Russell said that the best thing is working together with Nvidia to win the industry. “This brings us closer to achieving fully autonomous vehicles. We will provide the best hardware to the industry that will make it easier for them to achieve the target. We are looking forward to fulfilling the demands of each and every automaker,” Russell said.
Carolyn is a technology graduate and loves to write about anything related to technology as well as writes in others sectors. Carolyn is a professional writer with over 7 years of experience. Initially starting off as a programmer, Carolyn decided to combine her knowledge about technology and writing and that’s how she joined Reporter Expert.