Integrated Lidar Engine

Blackmore's optical layer is built on standard optical fiber communications components. By leveraging decades of development in optical fiber communication, we can say with confidence that our designs are scalable and reliable.

Recent trends in coherent optical fiber communication point to photonic integration in InP as a leader in cost reduction and performance increases for high speed communications. The same technology is allowing Blackmore to integrate designs to chip-scale lidar.

 

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Non-Mechanical Scanning

Blackmore's lidar approach uses continuous wave (CW) light instead of short energetic laser pulses. CW approaches are much better suited to the use of integrated photonics for solid-state beamsteering. That's why Blackmore has partnered with leading research partners to develop application-specific, solid-state scanners in silicon photonics. The technology pairs with Blackmore's lidar engine to enable the mass manufacture of completely solid-state lidar sensors.

Coherent Detection

Single-Photon Sensitivity

Good lidar systems don't waste photons. Blackmore's systems leverage coherent detection to make measurements with single-photon sensitivity limited only by quantum noise. This helps Blackmore's lidar see through rain, snow, and dust.

High Dynamic Range

Despite extreme sensitivity, Blackmore's systems offer extremely high dynamic range. This means the sensor is able to see both bright (street signs, tail lights) and dark objects (tires, road surfaces) with ease.

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Real-Time Processing

Efficient signal processing is critical for FMCW lidar systems. Streamlined computations allow for real-time processing on commodity embedded processing hardware. No power-hungry server racks, just a tiny little chip.

Range and Doppler data is extracted and assembled into point clouds in real time. This allows points to be streamed from the sensor with sub-millisecond latency.

 

 

Intuitive API Control

At Blackmore, we've been building and integrating lidar systems for nearly a decade. So when it came to the API, we knew what we wanted - simple, scalable, efficient. Custom data types allow for expressive control of streamed data products. Our API supports rapid sensor integration so that you can get on the road sooner.

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Discover a better path to scalable lidar