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MicroVision Taps New CEO, Unveils MOVIA-S Lidar Sensor
New Tri-Lidar Architecture Targets Mass Market Adoption
introduced its automotive lidar offering, MOVIA-S, which the company boasts as a smaller, more efficient, low-cost, next-generation sensor of its Tri-Lidar Architecture solutions platform. Also, former Chief Technology Officer will become CEO, transitioning to the position at the end of September.
The new MicroVision head said the architecture breaks down the perception task into more manageable elements, combining a short-range sensor and a long-range sensor to optimize the performance and cost of the overall system.
“That is where the sweet spot of those technologies can be utilized,” he said, adding that Tri-Lidar Architecture provides a wide range of features from advanced driving assistance systems to fully autonomous driving such as blind spot detection, low-speed autonomy and parking.
The MOVIA-S sensor provides a 180-degree by 130-degree field of view for industrial and defense applications, or a 90-degree by 60-degree field of view for automotive applications, simplifying the requirements for the long-range sensor.
“You’re not asking it to cover a wide field of view,” De Vos said. “You can get it to focus on that long-range region of interest much more effectively than if you’re asking it to do everything.”
He said the Tri-Lidar approach enables smaller, more cost-effective lidar integration into vehicles, allowing it to be used not just on premium vehicles but also in more value-oriented segments.
“The differentiator is it’s a smaller package, it’s lower power consumption, and it’s 40%-50% lower cost,” De Vos explained. “That means OEMs can start to put it on not just premium options on premium vehicles, [but into] the more value segment vehicles, which is where we want to be.”
He said that the next-generation sensors are scheduled for launch in 2028 with a price of $200 to $300, making them more accessible for mass adoption, similar to the evolution of radar and camera systems in the automotive industry.
“That’s how you go from being a premium option to mass adoption,” De Vos said. “You really drive the performance, but you also drive the cost where it needs to be for the adoption of the technology.”
De Vos said MicroVision now has three main market focuses — defense, industrial and automotive — where the company is planning to introduce lidar solutions 12 to 18 months after its initial automotive products. He stated that the company is considering the unique requirements of the commercial vehicle segment.
“There are a number of [automated systems] solutions that are out there already. What we want to do is bring a very high-performance but a very low-cost solution to that market,” De Vos said. “We don’t want it to just be a technology limited to commercial vehicles. We want it based on broader industry needs so that we get the benefit of scale.”
