Yandex is developing lidar sensors and a camera for self-driving vehicles

Yandex, the Russia-based company specializing in internet-related products and transportation services, is getting into the lidar sensor business. In a Medium post in which the company revealed that its autonomous cars have driven over 1.5 million miles combined, up from 1 million in October, Yandex detailed two custom software-defined lidar sensors it says it has been testing on vehicles in Moscow. Yandex expects that it will also eventually use them on its recently revealed delivery robot, Yandex.Rover. Lidar sensors measure the distance to target objects by illuminating them with laser light and measuring the reflected pulses. They're a core part of a number of driverless vehicle systems, including those developed by Alphabet's Waymo, Uber, and GM's Cruise, and their applications extend to verticals like robotics, industry, security, and agricultural sectors.