SAN JOSE, Calif., July 29, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (Nasdaq: VLDR, VLDRW) today announced a new software development kit which allows customers to utilize the advanced capabilities of Velodyne's Vella lidar perception software in their autonomous solutions. The Vella Development Kit (VDK) enables companies to accelerate time to market for bringing cutting-edge lidar capabilities to autonomous vehicles, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), mobile delivery devices, industrial robotics, drones and more. This press release features multimedia. The Vella Development Kit (VDK) from Velodyne Lidar allows customers to use the advanced capabilities of Vella lidar perception software in autonomous solutions. VDK enables companies to accelerate time to market for bringing cutting-edge lidar capabilities to autonomous vehicles, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), mobile delivery devices, industrial robotics, drones and more.

Velodyne Lidar, Inc. announced a three-year sales agreement with Baidu for its Alpha Prime lidar sensors. The Alpha Prime sensors will be utilized for autonomous applications. Velodyne's low-cost, high-scale manufacturing delivers attractive pricing for Baidu and its Apollo partners. Baidu and Baidu's Apollo program, an open-source autonomous vehicle software platform, selected the Alpha Prime for its range, resolution and field of view that collectively address the high-performance requirements for autonomous vehicles. Quality 3D lidar vision is a critical component for autonomous vehicles to accurately perceive the environment.

Velodyne Lidar, Inc. today announced a multi-year sales agreement with NAVYA, a leading company in autonomous driving systems. Since 2015, NAVYA has been using Velodyne lidar sensors in production for its autonomous shuttle fleet that provides mobility services to cities and private sites. This press release features multimedia. Since 2015, NAVYA has been using Velodyne lidar sensors in production for its autonomous shuttle fleet that provides mobility services to cities and private sites. NAVYA plans to pursue the worldwide expansion of its shuttle with Velodyne's state-of-the-art sensors for precise real-time localization and object detection.

Velodyne Lidar is the maker of the lidar units used by nearly all of the self-driving developments under way as of 2019. The company's lidar sensors are expensive, but it has worked with several automakers to lower costs considerably over the last few years. While some well-funded entrants (including Waymo and Cruise) have internal efforts under way to develop lower-cost lidar units of their own, Velodyne still has the potential to be an enduring leader in this space. Investors should be prepared to take a close look if and when the company announces plans for a public offering. Zoox is a secretive California-based start-up that is developing a self-driving system aimed at the ridesharing market.

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your Automaton bloggers. We'll also be posting a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months; here's what we have so far (send us your events!): Let us know if you have suggestions for next week, and enjoy today's videos. We wrote about HAMR back in February, and it's now grown some cute lil' footpads that allow it to walk on water, and also sink (on purpose). In nature, cockroaches can survive underwater for up to 30 minutes.

Velodyne re-asserted its dominance of the lidar market today by announcing a product with 128 laser beams, twice as many as its previous top-of-the-line model. "The VLS-128 is the best LiDAR sensor on the planet, delivering the most advanced real-time 3D vision for safe driving," Mike Jellen, the president of Velodyne LiDAR, said in a statement. The announcement, which had been widely anticipated, leaves out the one detail that everyone most wants to know: the price. The company's previous top-of-the-line product originally sold for more than US $70,000. Today, though, a host of rival companies are on the scene, some of them promising solid-state products that cost less because they have no moving parts.

Velodyne, a Silicon Valley company that makes laser radar - a critical component in self-driving cars - landed 150 million from Ford and Chinese search giant Baidu. SAN FRANCISCO – Velodyne, a Silicon Valley company that makes a critical component for self-driving cars, has raised 150 million from two companies racing to put autonomous cars on the road. Ford Motor Company and Chinese search engine Baidu are co-leads in the round, Velodyne announced Tuesday. Velodyne's puck-shaped Lidar, or laser radar, devices take the place of human eyes by relaying terrain information to on-board computers. The investment comes as competition heats up between automakers and tech companies looking to gain an early lead in the evolving transportation revolution.