Aiming at the burgeoning market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Velodyne LiDAR, a technology company based in California’s Silicon Valley, has unveiled its 16-channel Puck LITE, a LiDAR sensor weighing in at 590 g (approximately 1.3 lbs.).
With a 30-degree vertical field of view and a range of 100 meters, Puck LITE builds on Velodyne’s VLP-16 LiDAR Puck, which was introduced in late 2014 as a 16-channel, real-time 3D LiDAR sensor weighing 830 g.
Velodyne notes that weight remains a critical parameter for operating UAVs; the lighter the UAV – including the sensors it incorporates – the longer the flight time.
“The Puck LITE is a natural follow-on product to the VLP-16 and was designed expressly to exceed the exacting requirements of the UAV market,” says Wayne Seto, product line manager for Velodyne LiDAR. “For UAVs and aerial 3D mapping applications generally, weight is everything. Our new offering retains all of the power and capabilities of the original Puck in an even lighter package.”
Velodyne LiDAR is now accepting orders for Puck LITE and expects to begin initial production in April.
