Tesla stopped using this technology because it was “too expensive.” Now China is going to turn it into its next blow to the industry

The cars of autonomous drivingthose who drive alone like robotaxis from Cruise, Waymo or Volkswagen, essentially use two technologies to read their surroundings and traffic, high-definition cameras and LIDARa radar that uses lasers to produce three-dimensional images of your surroundings.

Elon Musk He insisted on removing LIDAR from his cars because he considers that they are too expensive and do not contribute anything new. However, there are many critical voices who claim that the main problem with the Autopilot FSD is precisely that it lacks LIDAR. Now, the world’s largest LIDAR manufacturer says it has halved the price of that essential sensor.

A 50% cheaper LIDAR

The Chinese group Hesaihe world’s largest manufacturer of LIDAR sensors for autonomous driving, has announced that next year will cut the price in half of its flagship product, which should lead to much greater adoption of this technology in electric cars.

Currently, a LIDAR costs about 800 dollars per unit per car approximately. “The halving of the price will make the use of LIDAR attractive even for the cheapest electric vehicles, priced below 150,000 yuan ($20,000),” according to David LiCEO. For higher-priced electric cars, the adoption rate of lidar technology could increase to 40%, according to Li.

Why LIDAR is essential for autonomous driving. LIDAR scans the road using a laser to get a clearer view of the road even in poor visibility conditions such as fog, darkness or pouring rain where a camera would not be as effective.

For Tesla, they are expensive systems and considered redundant, but they provide double security. If the camera does not detect an obstacle or if the software does not recognize what is in front and decides to ignore it, a lidar would send a signal that there is indeed an obstacle and it is necessary to stop or avoid it.

From Nio to Xpeng through Volvo, Honda or Mercedes, all manufacturers involved in autonomous driving use a combination of cameras, radar and LIDAR, the latter being an essential element of their systems.

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