Velodyne Lidar has signed a sales agreement with Motional, a driverless technology company, to supply its Alpha Prime sensors.

As per the terms of the agreement, Velodyne will be the exclusive supplier of long-range, surround-view lidar sensors for Motional’s SAE Level 4 driverless vehicles.

Velodyne said that Alpha Prime lidar sensor uses its patented 360° surround-view perception technology to support autonomous mobility.

The lidar sensors support autonomous operation across a broad range of road settings, including urban and highway environments.

Velodyne said that its Alpha Prime lidar sensor will help autonomous vehicles safely navigate roadways at various speeds, travelling in a range of road conditions such as rain, sleet and snow.

With good reflectivity returns, the sensors are said to easily detect and track vehicles, pedestrians and other road obstructions.

Velodyne Lidar CEO Anand Gopalan said: “By working with Motional, we’re on the cutting edge of making driverless vehicles a safe everyday reality.

“Velodyne and Motional have a shared mission of safety-first and we’re proud that our Alpha Prime sensors will be used by Motional’s vehicles as they safely navigate real roads.”

Earlier this month, Velodyne Lidar 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.