Oryx Vision Creates Technology to Help Autonomous Vehicles See Better
After six years of research and development, Israel-based Oryx Vision has developed a system capable of allowing autonomous vehicles to see better and farther thanks to improved depth perception.
According to the company’s CEO, Rani Wellingstein, the technology is known as a “coherent optical radar system.”
To improve the depth perception for autonomous vehicles, the company used what it described as nano antennas, as opposed to lidar systems, for detection using an electromagnetic wave, which gives the vehicles the capability of accessing more information.
The antennas, which are cheaper than lidar systems, operate at a 10-micron wavelength, making it possible to achieve certain feats, such as seeing through fog and avoiding being blinded by bright sunlight.
“Autonomous driving is about vision and decision, and there’s currently a gap between the two,” Wellingstein said in an article with Tech Crunch. “There must be another technology, another sensor [besides lidar], to close that gap.”
Wellingstein added, “most of the players we’re talking to are not aware there is another technology. That is where we are.”
With a staff that stands at 20 people right now, Oryx plans to soon expand, thanks to $17 million raised in Series A funding. The company plans to not just expand in Israel, but would also like to hire people in places such as Silicon Valley and Germany to start. Oryx is also currently in the process of trying to land partnerships with companies that are building fully autonomous vehicles of the near future.
