Lidar-Based AV Sensing Solution Said to Predict Pedestrian Behavior

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology company Insight LiDAR said Friday its Insight 1600 system is the first gesture-sensing technology for AV lidar systems. The capability can be used by AV perception teams to quickly and accurately predict pedestrian actions, it said. “If a pedestrian looks both ways at an intersection, drivers understand that that person intends to cross the street,” said Insight LiDAR Vice President Chris Wood, noting that detecting subtle pedestrian movements that convey intent is an important safety capability that has eluded AV developers until now. The technology is based on frequency modulated continuous wave lidar sensing, which uses a low-power continuous wave of light instead of high-power laser pulses to sense its environment. That makes it more sensitive than traditional lidar, allowing AVs to see objects much farther away, said the company.