According to the Korean media report, Samsung Electronics has begun to develop a lidar sensor for autonomous driving. People familiar with the matter said that the company’s goal is to commercialize the technology in 2026, and Samsung’s goal is to strengthen its automotive business. In addition, Samsung recently launched an image sensor for automobiles.
Lidar is an important part of automatic driving and advanced driving assistance systems. It emits pulsed lasers and determines the position of the target object by calculating the time the laser returns to the receiver. The lidar system consists of a computing chip, pulsed lasers and detectors.
The processor department of Samsung System LSI has recently completed the development of a meta-lidar chip, which will be used as a computing chip for the lidar sensor. The chip collects light refraction data and calculates the distance. It is an ultra-small chip made of a metamaterial that can control optical characteristics.
For pulsed lasers and detectors, Samsung is developing based on the time-of-flight method (ToF). A complete set of lidar is expected to be completed within the next five years, and Samsung’s goal is to make the detection range of its lidar group reach 100 meters. The lidar sensor will be an ultra-small module and not cylindrical.
Lidar companies such as Velodyne and Luminar provide cylindrical lidars that scan 360 degrees. These lidars are connected to the center of the car roof like an antenna, which is considered unattractive in terms of design. The current price of lidar is also between 40 million won to 100 million won. This cost barrier is considered an obstacle to large-scale popularization.
Samsung’s method is to attach multiple ultra-small lidar modules to the car. The company’s goal is to keep the price of the modules below 50,000 won. According to data from Yole Development, from 2020 to 2026, the automotive lidar market is expected to grow by an average of 113% per year. The market value is expected to reach 1.7 billion US dollars in 2026.
