Palo Alto, Aug 1, 2023- Hesai Technology, a pioneer in the field of lidar sensors, announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to integrate Hesai’s cutting-edge lidar sensors within the NVIDIA DRIVE and NVIDIA Omniverse ecosystems.

By combining Hesai’s industry-leading expertise in lidar sensors with NVIDIA’s AI, simulation, and software development platforms, the collaboration will unlock new possibilities for the autonomous driving industry.

NVIDIA DriveWorks is the foundation for autonomous vehicle software development and a trusted solution for creating and deploying autonomous driving applications. Developers building on DriveWorks will be able to effectively integrate Hesai’s lidar sensors into their vehicles, leading to more efficient and reliable autonomous driving systems.

Simulation is a critical component to the sensor integration pipeline. Built on Omniverse, NVIDIA DRIVE Sim is a powerful simulation platform that enables developers to test and validate autonomous driving systems in a physically based virtual environment.

With the ability to access Hesai lidar sensor models in DRIVE Sim, developers can take advantage of enhanced capabilities for simulating real-world lidar data, enabling more robust and accurate testing of autonomous vehicle algorithms.

Hesai's AT128 is an automotive-grade, ultra-high resolution long-range lidar. With 128 independent VCSEL laser transmitters, AT128 is able to achieve 1.53 million data points per second and a detection range of 200 meters. Its ultra-high resolution point cloud is at the forefront of the industry. As of today, Hesai is collaborating with 11 leading OEMs in the industry on multi-year ADAS contracts, including China's largest new energy vehicle manufacturer and leading auto companies. Among them, 6 OEMs will start mass production and delivery before the end of 2023.

“By combining our expertise in lidar technology with NVIDIA’s world-class simulation and software development platforms, we can provide developers with invaluable insights and resources for unlocking the full potential of lidar in autonomous driving applications. This announcement marks a significant step forward in advancing the autonomous driving industry,” said Bob in den Bosch, SVP of Global Sales at Hesai Technology.

“This collaboration will provide autonomous vehicle developers with seamless tools and flexibility along the AV pipeline,” said Glenn Schuster, Senior Director of Sensor Ecosystems at NVIDIA. “Together, we aim to push the boundaries of lidar technology and accelerate the deployment of safe and efficient autonomous driving.”

The NVIDIA DRIVE and Omniverse collaboration expands on Hesai’s participation in the NVIDIA partner ecosystem, which has been ongoing since 2019. The companies will continue to work together to help end-users and OEMs more easily integrate GPU and lidar technology into self-driving vehicles.