Caterpillar has announced a new collaboration with Luminar to develop an autonomous solution for industrial applications.
The partnership will see LiDAR technology intergrated into Caterpillar’s next generation autonomous solution.
LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging. It helps navigation and obstacle detection in autonomous machines as it uses a pulsed laser to continuously scan the surrounding environment and provide measurement of the shape and size of objects nearby.
“We are proud to collaborate with Luminar on our next generation autonomous solution. We’ve invested in autonomy and automation for more than 30 years, and we’ve seen how it adds value for our customers in terms of safety, productivity and efficiency,” Caterpillar chief technology officer and senior vice president of integrated components and solutions Jaime Mineart said.
The Luminar LiDAR technology will be introduced with Cat Command for hauling, initially targeted for quarry and aggregate operations. The Cat off-highway truck will feature two Iris LiDAR with a unique integration system designed exclusively for Caterpillar.
“This new partnership with Caterpillar, the global leader in industrial equipment, has the opportunity to be a spearhead for next industrial revolution of automation,” Luminar founder and chief executive officer Austin Russell said.
“Now that Luminar has successfully executed for automotive series production, we’re able to branch out to adjacent markets with a shared mission. Together, we look forward to saving lives and enhancing profitability for CAT customers around the world with industry-leading capabilities.”
