DUBLIN, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — June 28, 2023 — AEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIDR), a global leader in adaptive, high-performance lidar solutions, today announced 4Sight+, the newest addition to its 4Sight™ Intelligent Sensing product line that delivers industry-leading path-planning, obstacle avoidance, and prediction capabilities. AEye leveraged its software-defined architecture to improve the sensor’s range by 20% and increase spatial resolution by 400%, extending its high speed small obstacle detection capabilities, while enabling the same hardware to address hazardous vehicle cut-ins - providing an all-in-one solution for automotive OEMs.
“These new capabilities were achieved entirely through firmware and software changes, using new algorithms and calibration techniques; this is just the tip of the iceberg of what we can do with software,” said Matt Fisch, Chief Executive Officer at AEye. “AEye is laser-focused on continuous product improvement, and we will leverage our software-defined architecture to deliver on that, and to adapt quickly to a changing market. Automakers are on a fast-track to deliver intuitive, reliable ADAS services that improve safety. Our architecture allows us to match their timeline, and brings OEMs and our partners, like Continental, one step closer to achieving their mission of Vision Zero – zero fatalities, injuries, and accidents.”
The data fidelity and range upgrades in 4Sight+ bring an increased level of dependability, performance, and adaptability from AEye to help OEMs eliminate phantom braking, improve existing ADAS features, and safely enable hands-free driving at highway speeds.
THE “SOFTWARE-DEFINED” ADVANTAGE
4Sight+ takes advantage of the platform’s modular, bistatic system that can reconfigure lidar performance on-the-fly and add new capabilities over-the-air. Powered by a tiny MEMS device that allows for ultra-fast, yet robust movements, the 4Sight Intelligent Sensing Platform is inherently designed to be highly programmable to meet performance requirements for both urban and highway driving using a single platform.
4Sight+ improves prediction capabilities by tracking vulnerable road users – including pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles – at up to 300 meters. It improves vehicle ride quality and reaction time by detecting small objects, like bricks and tires, at up to 200 meters, and it helps with vehicle path planning by identifying road surfaces, such as cement and asphalt, at up to 100 meters, including in direct sunlight and low light environments. These advantages allow AEye to enable predictive safety systems for a smoother, more comfortable hands-free driving experience at 80+ mph, without requiring driver intervention.
The advantages of a software-defined sensor allow the same hardware to address close-up vehicle cut-ins, long-range views, and everything in between. OEMs are able to leverage AEye’s scanning agility to completely reconfigure the lidar’s performance instantaneously, using cues from other sensors in the vehicle, such as speed or GPS location to activate uniquely defined modes of operation for parking, urban, and highway environments.
By optimizing lidar performance based on driving conditions, the sensor continues to achieve high-performance, while operating at the lowest power required. This also allows for flexibility in form factors – an important consideration for seamless vehicle integration as OEMs pursue electrification.
About AEye
AEye’s unique software-defined lidar solution enables advanced driver-assistance, vehicle autonomy, smart infrastructure, and logistics applications that save lives and propel the future of transportation and mobility. AEye’s 4Sight™ Intelligent Sensing Platform, with its adaptive sensor-based operating system, focuses on what matters most: delivering faster, more accurate, and reliable information. AEye’s 4Sight™ products, built on this platform, are ideal for dynamic applications which require precise measurement imaging to ensure safety and performance. AEye has a global presence through its offices in Germany, Korea, and the United States.
Forward-Looking Statement
Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are sometimes accompanied by words such as “believe,” “continue,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “predict,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends, or that are not statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward looking statements included in this press release include statements about the capabilities, adaptability, and configurability of AEye’s lidar products, the potential to increase the safety of vehicle operation, as well as the use of lidar generally, among others. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by an investor as a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are very difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from the assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of AEye. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) the risks that 4Sight+ may not deliver industry-leading path-planning, obstacle avoidance, or prediction capabilities as anticipated, or at all; (ii) the risks that 4Sight+ may not demonstrate high-speed small obstacle detection capabilities as anticipated, or at all; (iii) the risks that 4Sight+ may not address hazardous vehicle cut-ins as anticipated, or at all; (iv) the risks that 4Sight+ may not provide an all-in-one solution for automotive OEMs as anticipated, or at all; (v) the risks that AEye may be unable to quickly adapt to a changing market as anticipated, or at all; (vi) the risks that automakers may not deliver intuitive, reliable ADAS services that improve safety as quickly as anticipated, or at all; (vii) the risks that AEye’s architecture and related development may not match automakers’ timelines as anticipated, or at all; (viii) the risks that AEye’s products, or the architecture upon which the products are based, may not bring OEMs and partners closer to achieving their mission of Vision Zero, as anticipated, or at all; (ix) the risks that the data fidelity and range upgrades in 4Sight+ may not bring the consistent level of dependability, performance, and adaptability as anticipated, or at all; (x) the risks that 4Sight+ may not permit OEMs to eliminate or reduce phantom braking, improve existing ADAS features, or safely enable hands-free driving at highway speeds as anticipated, or at all; (xi) the risks that the programmability of the 4Sight Intelligent Sensing Platform may not achieve the performance requirements for both urban and highway driving using a single platform as anticipated, or at all; (xii) the risks that 4Sight+ may not improve prediction capabilities as anticipated, or at all; (xiii) the risks that 4Sight+ may not improve vehicle ride quality and reaction time as anticipated, or at all; (xiv) the risks that 4Sight+ may not help with vehicle path planning as anticipated, or at all; (xv) the risks that 4Sight+ may not enable predictive safety systems for an improved hands-free driving experience at highway speeds and without driver intervention as anticipated, or at all; (xvi) the risks that OEMs may not be able to leverage AEye’s scanning agility to completely reconfigure the lidar’s performance instantaneously as anticipated, or at all; (xvii) the risks that cues from other vehicle sensors may not enable AEye’s sensor to activate modes of operation for various scenarios as anticipated, or at all; (xviii) the risks that sensor optimization based on driving conditions may not result in high-performance while operating at the lowest power required as anticipated, or at all; (xix) the risks that AEye’s products will not meet the diverse range of performance and functional requirements of AEye’s target markets and customers; (xx) the risks that the size of the total available market for the use of lidar will be smaller than anticipated or take longer to come to fruition than predicted; (xxi) the risks that AEye may not continue to execute against its business plan to the extent anticipated, or at all; (xxii) the risks that lidar adoption occurs slower than anticipated or fails to occur at all; (xxiii) the risks that AEye may not be in a position to adequately or timely address either the near or long-term opportunities that may or may not exist in the evolving autonomous transportation industry; (xxiv) the risks associated with changes in competitive and regulated industries in which AEye operates, variations in operating performance across competitors, and changes in laws and regulations affecting AEye’s business; (xxv) the risks that AEye is unable to adequately implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and identify and realize additional opportunities; and (xxvi) the risks of downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in the highly competitive and evolving industry in which AEye operates. These risks and uncertainties may be amplified by the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to cause significant economic uncertainty. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of the periodic report that AEye has most recently filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and other documents filed by AEye or that will be filed by AEye from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.
