Multi-field Applications and Future Development Trends of LiDAR in 2023

As the technologies and industries developed continuously, LiDAR has become one of the indispensable technologies in many fields in 2023. This paper will discuss the applications of LiDAR in 2023, and predict the future trend of it in 2024 as well as point out the problems it faces in the future.

1、 Overview of Multi-field Applications of LiDAR in 2023
1.1 Applications in the automotive
The application of LiDAR in the automotive is becoming more and more extensive, for which its high-precision three-dimensional perception enables cars to achieve autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance and intelligent driving in different environments. In 2023, major automobile manufacturers successively introduced laser radar technology and applied it to autonomous vehicle. By scanning the surrounding environment with a high-frequency laser beam, LiDAR accurately obtain real-time data, thus enabling vehicles to accurately sense road conditions and surrounding traffic.

1.2 Applications in other fields
In addition to the automotive field, LiDAR is also widely used in military, aviation, industrial surveying and mapping, and other fields. In the military field, LiDAR can be used for target recognition and tracking. In the aviation, LiDAR can be used for terrain mapping and navigation. Moreover, the application of LiDAR technology in industrial surveying and mapping has gradually increased in fields such as construction and mining, providing high-precision data for measurement.

2、 The advantages and disadvantages of LiDAR in the automotive
2.1 Advantages
2.1.1 High-precision perception
One of the biggest advantages of LiDAR is its ability to perceive with high precision. Through laser beam scanning, the laser radar obtains the three-dimensional information around the vehicle in real time, including distance, speed, direction and other dimensions, providing accurate environmental data for the autopilot system.

2.1.2 Adaptability for complex environments
Lidar can operate in all kinds of complicated environments, including harsh weather and low light conditions. Compared with traditional cameras and radars, lidar performs better in rainy and snowy weather, ensuring the reliability and stability of the autopilot system.

2.1.3 Multi-level perception
Lidar can not only sense static objects, but also detect the position and velocity of dynamic objects. This multi-level perception allows cars to better cope with complex traffic conditions and improves the safety of the autopilot system.

2.2 Disadvantages
2.2.1 High cost
There’s no denying that LiDAR has obvious advantages in perception, but its manufacturing costs are relatively high, which poses big challenges for car manufacturers in controlling overall vehicle costs. This is also a major reason for the high price of high-level autonomous vehicle.

2.2.2 Sensitivity to ambient light
Lidar is more sensitive to ambient light, especially in environments of alternating strong and weak light, which may result in unstable data acquisition. This is a technical problem to be solved for the autopilot system that requires continuous and stable perception.

2.2.3 Large volume and weight
Traditional LiDAR equipment is comparatively large and heavy, which limits its application in automobiles to some extent. As the technology continue to progress, lightweight and miniaturized LiDAR equipment is gradually becoming the solution, but more breakthroughs is still needed in engineering practice.

3、 Outlook on Development Trends of LiDAR for 2024
3.1 Technological innovation and breakthroughs
As the technologies advances, LiDAR technology will usher in an new era with more innovation and breakthroughs in 2024. It’s anticipated that the improvement of lightweight and miniaturization technology will further promote the application of LiDAR in the automotive. So the new generation of LiDAR equipment will be more compact and lightweight, and is expected to solve the volume and weight problems faced by existing equipment in automotive applications.

3.2 Optimization of intelligent perception algorithm
Lidar manufacturers will further optimize intelligent perception algorithms in order to better process data acquired by lidars. Through advanced technologies such as machine learning and deep learning, laser radar will identify, classify and track targets more accurately, thus improving the performance of autonomous vehicle in complicated traffic environments.

3.3 Price Decline Trends
With the maturity of LiDAR technology and more intense market competition, it is estimated that the price of LiDAR equipment will gradually decline next year. This will help boost the popularity of autonomous vehicle, making it possible for more automobile manufacturers to introduce laser radar technology into their models, and improve the autopilot performance of the overall vehicle.

3.4 Formulation and improvement of industry standards
In order to promote the further development of LiDAR technology, the formulation and improvement of industry standards will be made in the future. This will be helpful to unify the specifications of LiDAR products, improving the compatibility and substitutability of products from different manufacturers, so as to better meet the needs of different car manufacturers.

3.5 Improvement of security and reliability
In 2024, LiDAR technology will pay greater attention to improving safety and reliability. For example, the new generation of LiDAR equipment will adopt more advanced self-monitoring and self-repair mechanisms to deal with equipment failures or damages. At the same time, the lidar system will better fit and operate in the complex environments such as bad weather, strong light and weak light, and improve the stability of autonomous vehicle in various situations.

4、 The problems to be solved in the future
LiDAR has made significant progress in the field of autonomous driving, but it still faces some urgent problems to be solved.

4.1 Security issues
When encountering severe weather, such as heavy rain and snow, the lidar may have unstable data acquisition, which to some extent affects the safety of autonomous vehicle. In the future, further improvements are required in LiDAR technology to enhance stability and reliability under different weather conditions.

4.2 Cost reduction issues
The manufacturing cost of laser radar equipment is still high, which directly affects the overall cost of autonomous vehicle. The key to solving this problem is to speed up the industrialization of LiDAR technology for improving productivity, thereby achieving large-scale production and reducing manufacturing costs.

4.3 Issues for the formulation of regulations and standards
The popularity of autonomous vehicle is restricted by the formulation of regulations and standards. In the future, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation with the government, industry associations and other relevant parties, and jointly develop more perfect regulations and standards to push the promotion and application of lidar technology in autonomous vehicles.