The automotive industry is undergoing technological change and transformation. In this development context, one of the hottest topics is the development of autonomous driving technology. Whether an automobile manufacturer or system supplier can gain a foothold in the market for a long time may become the decisive criterion. Therefore, this not only means challenges for manufacturers, but also creates opportunities for self-positioning to adapt to future development. There are currently two different situations or strategies.

On the one hand, traditional car manufacturers continue to gradually expand the functions of driving assistance systems to semi-autonomous driving technology. This trend has fully taken into account the market conditions of the mass market. It will definitely take several years of market development before the mass market can cater to the final expansion stage of fully autonomous driving. Because before putting it into use on public roads, in addition to obtaining the necessary certification, the legal situation and public acceptance must also be fully considered. A study by the German Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media Association (Bitkom) shows that although the public is full of expectations for autonomous vehicles, more than 70% of respondents still have concerns about safety. In the exploration of autonomous driving technology, the fusion of different sensors and the integration of optical laser systems for environmental detection have become the core trend.

In China, the benefits of autonomous driving have come. On March 9, the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China published the recommended national standard for "Automotive Driving Automation Classification" for approval, which will be implemented on January 1, 2021. This version of the grading standard is based on the degree to which the driving automation system can perform dynamic driving tasks. According to the role assignment in the execution of dynamic driving tasks and whether there are design operating conditions restrictions, driving automation is divided into 0 to 5 levels. The industry believes that for the development and large-scale application of autonomous driving technology, the introduction of national standards is a key prerequisite, and clear classification standards will help promote the mass production and implementation of various autonomous vehicles.

To achieve L4, a series of technologies such as lidar, high-precision maps, and environmental perception must be involved, and the complexity is much higher than that of L3. Relying on high-precision and high-reliability detection capabilities, lidar is basically considered to be the core sensor necessary for L3-L5 autonomous vehicles.

According to MarketsandMarkets, the market size of lidar used in autonomous driving is expected to grow from US$844 million in 2019 to US$2.273 billion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 18.5% from 2019 to 2024. Faced with such an attractive huge cake, the goals and ambitions of various LiDAR manufacturers have been undoubtedly revealed: to develop LiDAR that can be applied to L3/L4, and to pursue higher reliability and safety, and to seize the market as soon as possible.