Plus (formerly Plus.ai), a global provider of self-driving truck technology, has selected Aeva, a provider of next-generation sensing and perception systems, to supply automotive grade long-range 4D LiDAR for the production of driver-in and fully autonomous trucks powered by the PlusDrive system.
Aeva’s high performance LiDAR will help Plus autonomous trucks sense their environment clearly at long ranges, shorten response time in safety-critical situations, and address edge cases leveraging Aeva’s proprietary instant velocity data.
Aeva and Plus have been collaborating since 2019 to equip and validate Plus’s autonomous trucking system with Aeva Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) 4D LiDAR. With the agreement, Plus will use Aeva’s 4D LiDAR sensors to augment its long-range perception in Plus’s commercially available driver-in product starting in late 2022 and leading to its fully autonomous driving system.
Plus is partnered with some of the world’s truck makers and freight carriers. Production and delivery of its driver-in autonomous trucking solution, PlusDrive, to customers started in early 2021, with plans for more than 100,000 vehicles to be in service by the end of 2025. The PlusDrive solution is designed for fleets that are looking to improve driver retention, enhance safety, reduce fuel costs, and lower their carbon emissions.
“Our global deployment of automated trucks to fleets commercially at scale requires leading technology that is automotive grade, high performance, and practical. We selected Aeva as our production partner because its 4D LiDAR complements Plus’s state-of-the-art long range perception by adding important instant velocity detection for the safe operation of autonomous trucks, and Aeva shares our commitment to bring autonomous trucks to market,” says Shawn Kerrigan, COO and co-founder of Plus.
Heavy trucks take much longer to stop than passenger cars. Therefore, an automated trucking sensor system needs to detect objects, place them in lanes, and assign an accurate velocity at very long ranges. Aeva’s 4D LiDAR senses precise velocity and position for each point, even at distances over 500 metres away. The combination of Aeva’s 4D LiDAR and Plus’s proprietary autonomy stack addresses many edge cases, such as previously unseen obstacles that may confound deep neural networks in the perception stack.
“We are pleased that a leader like Plus recognises the unparalleled performance of our unique 4D LiDAR sensors,” says Soroush Salehian, co-founder and CEO at Aeva. “This production partnership validates Aeva’s technology as the world’s first automotive 4D LiDAR for autonomous trucking and we look forward to supporting Plus as they ramp up production of their automated trucks.”
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