Ford Otosan is testing and planning to use Velodyne Velarray H800 lidar sensors. Credit: Velodyne Lidar, Inc.

LiDAR solutions developer Velodyne Lidar has partnered with Ford Otosan for the product development and testing of autonomous heavy commercial trucks.

Ford Otosan, which is a commercial vehicle production centre of Ford in Europe, will test the products and also plans to use Velodyne’s Velarray H800 LiDAR sensors in its next-generation vehicles for safe navigation and collision avoidance.

Ford Otosan assistant general manager Burak Gökçelik said: “Autonomous vehicle technology, powered by LiDAR, can bring multiple efficiency and safety benefits to the trucking industry.

“Our autonomous driving initiative with Velodyne looks to improve roadway safety by helping trucks understand and react to approaching road conditions and surroundings.”

Velodyne claimed that its Velarray H800 has the potential to improve automated safety and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

The company added that its LiDAR sensor technology will help Ford Otosan to create autonomous driving technology and address driving situations such as curvy roads, potholes, intersections, on/off ramps and roadways with unclear lane markings.

Velodyne Lidar Europe executive director Erich Smidt said: “Ford Otosan has well- established commercial vehicle leadership in Europe and they act as the global engineering centre for Ford Motor Company’s heavy commercial vehicles.

“We look forward to cooperating with Ford Otosan on autonomous driving development and learning from their use of the Velarray H800 in the trucking market.”

Ford Otosan is currently using Velodyne’s Alpha Prime LiDAR sensors, which offer a complete surround-view perception technology to support autonomous mobility.