Ford-Backed AI Firm Acquires LiDAR Business
Argo AI acquires Princeton Lightwave in a move aimed at improving object-detection capabilities in Ford’s self-driving cars.
Image courtesy of Ford/Argo AI.
Image courtesy of Ford/Argo AI.
Artificial intelligence firm Argo AI, which in February drew a $1 billion investment commitment from Ford, has acquired Princeton Lightwave — a company specializing in LiDAR sensors that are well suited for autonomous vehicles.
Based in San Francisco, Argo AI announced the acquisition in a blog post written by company CEO Bryan Salesky. Argo AI is working to develop a new software platform for Ford’s fully autonomous vehicle coming in 2021.
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors “are crucial to creating a three-dimensional view of the world that helps autonomous vehicles find where they are on the road and detect other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists,” Salesky wrote.
Princeton Lightwave, based in Cranbury, N.J., is a leader in Geiger-mode LiDAR technology.
“Lightwave’s technology will help us unlock new capabilities that will aid our virtual driver system in handling object detection in challenging scenarios, such as poor weather conditions, and safely operating at high speeds in dynamic environments,” Salesky added.
Argo AI’s expansion is expected to expedite the company’s progress in commercializing and deploying self-driving cars at scale.
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