Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (Nasdaq: VLDR, VLDRW) today announced a multi-year sales agreement to provide Puck LITE™ sensors to Emesent, a world-leader in drone autonomy, lidar mapping and data analytics. Emesent is using Velodyne’s lidar sensors to power its award-winning Hovermap mobile scanning system for mapping hazardous and GPS-denied environments.

Emesent’s Hovermap, equipped with a Velodyne Puck LITE™ sensor, has a colorization feature for its 3D point clouds that brings additional context for visualization and analysis. (Photo: Emesent)

Hovermap, which can be hand-held or mounted to a drone, uses Puck LITE lidar as its primary perception and mapping sensor. Equally capable above ground or underground, indoors or out, Hovermap combines advanced collision avoidance and autonomous flight technologies to map challenging, inaccessible areas. Hovermap has a colorization feature for its 3D point clouds that brings additional context for visualization and analysis.

Hovermap provides high-quality data capture for the mining, construction/infrastructure, forestry, defense, oil and gas, and film industries. Hovermap customer Daniel Thomas of XM2, a leader in drone cinematography in Australia, said, “When operating on a live set to capture VFX data in the film industry, speed is key. We use the Hovermap now to cover areas that traditionally had no effective lidar capture method, including above buildings and around complex set pieces, in a fraction of the time a terrestrial lidar takes. We can now operate between takes, capturing areas that would normally take an hour in five minutes.”

“The Velodyne Puck LITE lidar is an extraordinary sensor for mobile mapping systems due to its compact size, light weight and high performance,” said Dr. Stefan Hrabar, Emesent CEO. “The sensor helped us create game-changing technology that can obtain vital data in challenging environments in real time without risking the machine or operator safety.”

Dr. Hrabar will discuss how to address autonomous exploration in challenging inaccessible environments during a Velodyne Lidar LIVE! webinar on January 28, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. PST. For free attendance, click here: Emesent webinar registration.

“Emesent’s inventive use of Velodyne’s lidar sensors is enabling rapid autonomous mobile scanning that safely delivers operational insights in a range of applications,” said Anand Gopalan, CEO, Velodyne Lidar. “Hovermap provides an excellent showcase of how Puck LITE’s 360-degree capture capability enables companies to produce high quality, accurate, georeferenced point cloud data.”

Velodyne Puck LITE sensors deliver a high-resolution image to measure and analyze indoor and outdoor environments. Designed for applications that require a sensor with a low weight and compact size, Puck LITE delivers outstanding resolution and performance for mobile and UAV/drone applications. It provides a full 360-degree environmental view to deliver real-time 3D data.

About Velodyne Lidar

Velodyne Lidar (Nasdaq: VLDR, VLDRW) ushered in a new era of autonomous technology with the invention of real-time surround view lidar sensors. Velodyne is the first public pure-play lidar company and is known worldwide for its broad portfolio of breakthrough lidar technologies. Velodyne’s revolutionary sensor and software solutions provide flexibility, quality and performance to meet the needs of a wide range of industries, including autonomous vehicles, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), smart cities and security. Through continuous innovation, Velodyne strives to transform lives and communities by advancing safer mobility for all. For more information, visit www.velodynelidar.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including, without limitation, all statements other than historical fact and include, without limitation, statements regarding Velodyne’s target markets, new products, development efforts, competition. When used in this press release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside Velodyne’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others, that may affect actual results or outcomes include uncertainties related to the ability of Velodyne’s customers to commercialize their products and the ultimate market acceptance of these products; Velodyne’s ability to manage growth; Velodyne’s ability to execute its business plan; the uncertain impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Velodyne’s and its customers’ businesses; uncertainties related to Velodyne’s estimates of the size of the markets for its products; the rate and degree of market acceptance of Velodyne’s products; the success of other competing lidar and sensor-related products and services that exist or may become available; Velodyne’s ability to identify and integrate acquisitions; uncertainties related to Velodyne’s current litigation and potential litigation involving Velodyne or the validity or enforceability of Velodyne’s intellectual property; and general economic and market conditions impacting demand for Velodyne’s products and services. Velodyne undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.