SBIR Phase II: Micro-Fluidic LiDAR for Autonomous Vehicles

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to hasten the deployment of autonomous transportation systems, which stand to reduce driving accidents and fatalities, enable new paradigms in urban design, reduce vehicle traffic, increase automobile efficiency, and improve air quality, benefiting the immediate health of drivers and non-drivers alike. A reduction in cost of transporting people and goods would increase the profitability of nearly all products and services, since nearly all activities require transportation in some form. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are simpler implementations of semi-autonomous controls systems but are already saving lives by providing intelligent cruise control, lane departure warnings, steering assistance, and preemptive emergency braking. As ADAS improves through advanced sensor and scanning hardware and becomes more widely deployed, more accidents will be avoided, and lives saved. There are currently no LiDAR imaging sensors that can sense greater than 200 meters and are automotive qualified due to limitations on the scanning systems. The proposed innovation would be the first to enhance a scientific and technical understanding of the reliability issues limiting wide-scale sensor deployment and result in the first automotive qualified long-range LiDAR sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will result in an automotive-grade laser scanning system that enables next generation LiDAR, a three- dimensional imaging sensor crucial for the widespread adoption of autonomous delivery robots, drones, advanced driver safety systems in vehicles, and autonomous vehicles. Survey-grade LiDAR is a mature technology, but efforts to make it road worthy have failed due to the harsher shock and vibration requirements and deployed systems fail within two years and display image distortion under high-shock conditions. The proposed innovation will result in the first automotive qualified long-range LiDAR sensor by developing fluid stabilized opto-mechanical scanners that utilize buoyant forces to counteract external accelerations. The novel scanner technology will be simulated, fabricated, and tested against ISO specifications for automotive qualification to demonstrate both accurate real time scanner stability and long-term reliable operation. It is expected that the results will be scanners able to pass ISO testing in a form compatible with high-volume, low-cost production methods. Through collaboration with customers, this work will result in a new class of vision systems that will bring a new level of efficiency and safety in transportation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.