Recently, VCSEL lidar for SLAM navigation, the first sweeping robot in the industry, was mass produced and shipped. With the advantages of low power consumption, high stability and cost, this series of lidar products, equipped with the VCSEL laser module of Ruizhi Technology, have successfully entered the supply chain of domestic head enterprises of sweeping robots and have been mass produced and shipped, which has been recognized and concerned by the sweeping robot industry.
Since the development of sweeping robot, intelligence and automation have become the standard configuration of sweeping machine. In the face of complex sweeping environment, it is an important factor for consumers to consider whether they can efficiently and accurately conduct scene modeling, route planning and quickly react to avoid obstacles during sweeping. At present, the general intelligent sweeping route scheme of the sweeper is to use an LDS laser ranging radar to project a straight laser line onto the object, use the image sensor to receive the reflected light, and calculate the distance of the object by triangulation. After the LDS lidar rotates 360 degrees to measure the distance, a complete scanning and dragging environment map is created and input to the SLAM for path planning. If SLAM is the brain of the sweeper, then LDS lidar is the "eye" of the sweeper. In order to make the eyes see clearly and the environment is constructed accurately, the laser device is crucial.
Accurate ranging and mapping of the surrounding environment through LDS ranging lidar is a necessary condition for the intellectualization of the sweeper.
The laser source of traditional LDS laser ranging radar is mostly EEL side emitting laser, which has high power consumption and cost. Due to the restriction of the shape of EEL resonator, the light spot is mostly elliptical. The design engineer needs to use additional optical means to shape it into a circular light spot, which not only increases the device cost, but also reduces the light output efficiency of the device.
Compared with EEL laser, VCSEL has the characteristics of small divergence angle, natural circular facula, etc., which are more friendly to optical design, enabling engineers to achieve small single point circular facula without using complex optical means. At the same spot size and brightness, the power consumption of VCSEL is less than half of that of EEL. In addition, the lifetime and temperature stability of VCSEL devices are also much higher than EEL, and are not affected by Optical Catastrophe (COD).
Innovation is the foundation of our foothold. Since its establishment, Ruizhi Technology has actively promoted the innovative application of VCSEL technology in various application scenarios, committed to becoming the pioneer of VCSEL optical solutions, and demonstrated its hard strength through innovation. This year, Ruizhi Science and Technology launched the first laser radar scheme based on VCSEL technology in the industry in conjunction with the head radar solution company of the sweeping robot industry, and successfully mass produced it. This LDS laser range finder radar uses Riesling PRAY series VCSEL point laser, which is the first LDS laser radar scheme in the world to use VCSEL laser instead of traditional EEL laser. Compared with the traditional scheme using EEL point laser, it has the advantages of low power consumption, long life, high beam quality, low application cost, etc.
What is more worth mentioning is that this scheme uses Raytheon ultra narrow light VCSEL technology to achieve smaller spot size, while overcoming the shortage of conventional divergence angle VCSEL light spot that is bright around and dark in the middle. At present, the program has shipped nearly one million sets to the head customers of the sweeper industry, and the shipment rate will continue to grow in the future. In terms of mass production, Ruizhi has realized the consistency and repeatability of various performances through the design and optimization of VCSEL chip manufacturing process. It has also built its own chip optical sealing and testing dust-free factories in Hefei and Shenzhen respectively. Through the comprehensive quality management system based on ISO9001, it has ensured that the company's entire line of products can reach the top yield and quality of mass production products in the industry.
Ruizhi VCSEL laser emission module is the first domestic product that applies VCSEL to LDS laser radar of sweeper and mass produces and ships.
Raytheon ultra narrow light VCSEL technology provides LDS lidar with a round spot (right) with smaller spot size and more uniform light pattern, overcoming the shortcomings of traditional EEL laser elliptical spot (left) and conventional angle VCSEL spot (middle).
As we all know, VCSEL chip, as the core device of 3D imaging and sensing system, has already emerged in the field of 3D sensing and optical communication. As a leading provider of VCSEL chips and optical solutions in the industry, Ruizhi Technology has innovatively expanded the application field of VCSEL on the basis of extensive distribution of the consumer electronics industry. In addition to the sweeper industry, the company has also actively laid out the smart car and smart hardware industry. Its products have passed the IATF 16949 international automobile quality management system certification and the AEC-Q102 product vehicle specification certification, and have been mass produced and shipped to the leading domestic customers of new energy vehicles.
According to UBS data, the market size of China's sweeping robot will reach 5 billion US dollars in 2025. At present, the penetration rate of the domestic sweeping robot market is only 4%~6%, far lower than 13% abroad. In the future, there is still much room for the development of sweeping robots in China, and the laser radar, as the obstacle avoidance guide for sweeping robots, is also expected to usher in an explosive growth point. At present, Ruizhi PRAY series products for LDS laser navigation system have been mass produced. Next, together with its partners, Ruizhi Technology will also launch a new self-developed VCSEL line laser obstacle avoidance sensor to help customers bring consumers a brand-new experience of intelligent sweeping and dragging of the sweeper, which makes many users feel that the sweeping robot is becoming smart and useful.
Source: Yuexun
