Not long ago, some media reported that a laser radar sensor was loaded on a Tesla Mdoel Y engineering test vehicle in Florida, USA. As a staunch guardian of the visual school in the field of autonomous driving perception, Musk can’t escape the law of "true fragrance" in the end.
Vehicle-mounted small laser radar
As an important data acquisition and environmental awareness technology, lidar technology has been applied in many fields, such as surveying and mapping, autonomous driving, digital twinning, environmental monitoring and so on. In the "Tenth Five-Year Plan and the Outline of Long-term Goals in 2035", the construction of digital China is emphasized, and lidar technology will usher in a broader application range in digital construction.
Facing the grand proposition of digital China construction, how will the lidar technology empower it, and what problems need to be solved urgently in the popularization application of lidar technology? With these questions, the reporter interviewed Zhang Keshu, the founder and chief engineer of Beijing Branch Tianhua, and listened to him explain the present and future of lidar technology in detail.
Zhang Keshu, chief engineer of Tianhui in Beike.
Practice "discerning eyes" to perceive the world
"The most prominent feature of lidar technology is that it can quickly and accurately obtain a large number of three-dimensional point cloud data, thus stereoscopic perception of the real world. If the camera is an’ eye’, then the lidar is a more observant’ eye’ that can perceive the world more accurately. " Zhang Yishu explained.
Zhang Keshu is not only the founder and chief engineer of Beijing Branch Tianhui, but also a technical expert in the field of domestic laser radar. He has been deeply involved in the research and development of laser radar technology for more than 20 years, and since 2005, he has led the research team of Beijing Branch Tianhui to achieve a number of international leading and domestic pioneering breakthrough achievements.
In the conversation, Zhang Keshu particularly emphasized that at present, lidar technology has been widely used in surveying and mapping industry, but its field of application is far more than that. "Lidar sensor is an important development direction, so we should regard lidar as a means to perceive the world, not just a surveying and mapping tool. Only in this way can lidar technology truly become an eye-catching insight into the world, which is also the direction and goal that Beike Tianhua has been striving for. " Zhang Yishu said.
After more than ten years of pioneering work, Beike Tianhui is now one of the few suppliers with independent intellectual property rights in China that can produce laser radar related equipment. "At present, the mainstream lidar scanning methods are mainly divided into three types: mechanical scanning, OPA (optical phased array) and MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System, also known as micro-electro-mechanical system). These three methods have their own advantages and disadvantages." Zhang Yishu introduced.
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In his view, it doesn’t take too difficult physical knowledge to explain the advantages and disadvantages clearly. For example, the mechanical scanning mode is simple in structure and has a wide range of applicability, but it is not suitable for high dynamic scenes, and it is difficult to apply it to vehicle regulations.
OPA, on the other hand, is easily disturbed by the atmospheric end flow when it is mounted on the car due to the characteristics of light. For example, Zhang Keshu said: "Double-slit interference in physical experiments can explain this effect. As long as the air convection in the room is stronger, the interference fringes will fluctuate and weaken, and it is the same when applied to OPA. If there is more interference, the phase scanning will be unreliable."
Literally speaking, MEMS has micron-scale process characteristics, and it is difficult to adapt to millimeter-scale scanning mirror for high-frequency vibration scanning.
Zhang Keshu said: "Lidar needs to refer to two main technical development routes: the first is digital camera, which should not only learn its technical development context, but also learn the successful experience of business; The second is to learn microwave radar, not only to learn the history of technology development, but also to know what the ultimate direction of driving technology development is. "
Go to the "core" and explore and apply the blue ocean.
In recent years, with the application and popularization of lidar technology in many fields, people’s discussion about it is increasing day by day. However, Zhang Keshu believes that the application of lidar products and its technology is still limited to specific scenes, and its popular application and deeper commercial value still need to be explored.
There are many problems that need to be solved before lidar technology can become a sensor and truly become an important means to perceive the world. The first is the cost. The price of lidar is too high for car companies and consumers to afford. The market price of some high-end 3D laser scanning equipment reaches hundreds of thousands or even millions, while the price of ordinary car-class small lidar is more than 10,000 yuan. This price is still far from the target positioning price of Volkswagen sensor.
Limited by the service life of mechanical parts, the reliability and stability of mechanical lidar are not satisfactory. In addition, the large size, difficulty in passing the vehicle regulations, complicated technology and low production efficiency are all bottlenecks in the large-scale production of mechanical lidar.
Zhang Keshu told reporters that at present, the mainstream laser radars on the market generally weigh a lot. Some ground-based laser scanning equipment weighs about 5kg, and the weight of hand-held laser radars is also 1 kg to 3 kg. This is also a difficult problem that limits the further application of lidar.
To this end, Zhang Keshu and Beike Tianhui have done a lot of work on the chip. He believes that the chip is a pivotal fulcrum in controlling the cost and miniaturization of lidar. Since 2009, he has led the technical team of Beijing Branch Tianhui and independently developed 12 laser radar signal processing chips, which greatly reduced the volume of laser radar signal processing circuit and reduced power consumption and cost. Based on the technical advantages on the chip, Beike Tianhui has reached cooperation with experts at home and abroad to further deepen and widen the moat of the enterprise.
Beike Tianhui Lidar should be used in the field of dynamic driving
Beike Tianhui Lidar should patrol the line by electricity.
At present, Beike Tianhua has formed three business segments:
First, the surveying and mapping lidar oriented to the surveying and mapping market;
The second is the navigation-level and vehicle-level lidar for autonomous driving and smart transportation;
Third, indoor and outdoor digital technologies and products for digital twins and smart cities.
In particular, he emphasized that after nearly 20 years of deep cultivation, Beike Tianhui broke through the competitive pattern of the traditional surveying and mapping market, took the lead in marching into a wider range of emerging fields such as digital twins, smart cities, and autonomous driving, and achieved initial results, becoming the only company in China with both measurement and navigation laser radar development capabilities.
At the same time, Zhang Keshu also kept a cold reflection on the application fever of lidar. He introduced that although lidar technology, as an important sensor, will surely become an important part of the Internet of Everything and mass application in the foreseeable future, we still have a long way to go based on the present, and many applicable application scenarios are still limited by mass cognition and market model, which cannot be widely spread.
Taking the field of autonomous driving as an example, many car companies and consumers do not understand what application scenarios can be brought by lidar and autonomous driving, and their commercial maps are not clear. In addition, autonomous driving has not yet become a necessity, and once it enters the L4 and L5 levels, car companies need to bear a very large social responsibility, which must be taken into account.
This does not mean that Beike Tianhui will stop. "As a technology-based enterprise, we need to do precipitation and accumulation from the technical side. Beike Tianhui is willing to explore with partners in the innovative research and development and application of lidar, and we will make full use of our platform to promote and spread lidar technology." Zhang Keshu continued to add: "I don’t think there is a shortcut to the development of technology. It is unrealistic to think of overtaking in corners. The development of technology must be down-to-earth, otherwise it will be easy to’ derail’."
Grasp the core and "melt" the innovation bureau
From the beginning of the century to the current application boom, the development of lidar technology is far from reaching the "final game". In the competition field of lidar, lidar manufacturers at home and abroad are trying to find a breakthrough and get the "admission ticket" for the final.
Some people say that the lidar industry is very large and the industrial chain is very long, so large that it is "equivalent to the mobile phone industry+camera industry combined". Zhang Keshu believes that the lidar industry is indeed bigger than the camera industry. Fierce competition will eliminate a number of startup companies with shallow moats, and there should be 5 to 10 large-scale lidar enterprises in the future market. The key to enter the "final circle" may lie in the development of integrated application and popular application market.
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Lidar has a wide range of uses. From the current visible industrial structure, lidar plays an important role in security, monitoring, inspection, autonomous driving, smart city, vehicle-road coordination and other fields. "These new application areas have a larger market scale and higher technical requirements, which requires innovation drive and technology integration." Zhang Yishu added.
"Cross-border integration requires confidence, and the confidence of Beike Tianhui lies in mastering the core technological advantages." Zhang Keshu introduced that after years of research and development and accumulation, Beike Tianhui has achieved technological breakthroughs in independent chips, semiconductor processes, LiDAR signal processing and SLAM algorithms, which is also the value of Beike Tianhui.
Facing the ubiquitous technology trend and industrial situation, Beike Tianhui has been on the road of integration and innovation. Zhang Keshu told reporters that now and in the foreseeable future, in addition to continuing to deepen the mapping market, Beike Tianhui will also focus on the ubiquitous mapping field, such as digital twinning, autonomous driving and industrial automation. In the exploration of integration and innovation in these fields, lidar is expected to achieve breakthroughs in key problems such as sensor, miniaturization and online.
Zhang Keshu believes that integrated innovation is not to pursue concepts and grab hot spots, but to closely integrate market trends, develop and launch cost-effective products that meet market requirements in a timely manner. "Unlike scientific research institutions and universities, enterprises must resonate with the market at the same frequency." He further explained.
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There are two major test indicators for the integration and innovation of enterprises:
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It is necessary to achieve innovation drive and create valuable products around solving user pain points. If the product developed can only play a icing on the cake, it will not succeed, or it will not easily achieve the set goals. Therefore, it must be able to solve the user’s pain point, and this pain point is real.
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It is necessary to calculate the economic account and create value for users. In the face of the economic downturn in 2020, Beike Tianhui has achieved positive growth, among which UAV lidar products have increased by 80% year-on-year. How is this done? It is because it solves the pain of threshold and efficiency of airborne lidar and solves the pain point of users. "Our products have a high pass rate of data collection, which can not only help users save money, but also help users make money." Zhang Keshu said with pride.
Fusion innovation not only occurs between different disciplines and fields, but also between different countries. Zhang Keshu firmly believes that technological integration and innovation are crucial, but integration and development between domestic and international markets are equally important. He said: "We must not only gain a firm foothold in the domestic market, but also speak out in the international market, so that domestic lidar products and technologies can go out and communicate, integrate and compete with international enterprises."
At present, in the field of high-end equipment manufacturing, European and American markets occupy a greater voice, especially in the lidar market. Therefore, in order for domestic lidar to be recognized by the world, it is necessary to go out and "confront" the European and American markets.
Beike Tianhui products appear in international exhibitions.
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Zhang Yishu introduced that since 2014, Beike Tianhui has actively participated in the international technology and equipment exhibition and won many awards. Related products and technologies have also been recognized by international peers, winning the right to speak for domestic lidar products to some extent.
"Through the appearance on the international stage, Beike Tianhui and domestic lidar products have increased their sound volume, which is a good start. Although the international business scale of Beike Tianhui is still in the development stage, we dare not boast that it is the representative of domestic lidar on the world stage, but Beike Tianhui is already on the road. " Zhang Keshu said meaningfully.
It is true that both Beike Tianhui and domestic lidar are still in the period of exploration and development, and there is still a long way to go before the spring of large-scale and popular application. However, whether it is a vertical forward-looking technical layout or a horizontal international business route, Beike Tianhui has embarked on a commendable road of localization.
We firmly believe that there are still many peers on the road of laser radar and high-end equipment manufacturing, and these roads will also converge into the broad road of domestic equipment manufacturing in the foreseeable future.
END
/Our reporter Erdongtu/Provided by the interviewee
Editor: Zhang Yongchao
First trial: Qiyang
Audit: Peng Zhenzhong
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Original title: "China Surveying and Mapping | Lidar Direction"-Interview with Zhang Keshu, Chief Engineer of Beijing Branch Tianhua "
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