Compact, Scalable Lidar Design Could Have Applications in Robotics, Health Care

Researchers from the University of Southampton, in collaboration with a team from San Francisco-based nanotechnology company PointCloud Inc., developed a scalable 3D lidar imaging system that the collaborators said matches and exceeds the performance and accuracy of most mechanical systems currently in use. The cost-effective device may provide a path to large-volume production of compact, inexpensive, and high-performance 3D imaging cameras for use in robotics, autonomous navigation systems, mapping of building sites to increase safety, and health care. The integrated system, developed by the university’s Optoelectronic Research Center (ORC) and PointCloud, uses silicon photonic components and CMOS electronic circuits in the...