Luminar announced it has formed a partnership with Mercedes-Benz on Jan. 20. Mercedes plans to use Luminar’s LIDAR on its next-generation vehicle platform to enable autonomous driving on the highway.
But details including specific models that will use the sensor and when they’ll be available for sale to customers aren’t being disclosed.
Mercedes also acquired 1.5 million Luminar shares as part of the partnership.
Advantages of Luminar
- Luminar’s focus is optimizing its technology for autonomous highway driving, where lidar’s ability to see objects hundreds of meters ahead is critical.
- Over the past decade, Luminar has built advanced hardware and software platforms.
- Luminar serves more than 50 industry partners, including most of the world’s automotive OEMs.
The significance of cooperation
- By shortening the research and development cycle and strengthening technical cooperation, Mercedes-Benz will ensure the leading position in the industry.
- As part of the partnership, Mercedes-Benz will provide Luminar with a data-driven development approach to continuously improve and update the product.
- Cooperation is an essential part of Mercedes-Benz’s strategy. Luminar is the perfect addition to Mercedes’s existing roster of first-class cooperations with leading and cutting-edge tech companies.
Some context on Mercedes-Benz autonomous driving ：Mercedes-Benz L3 autonomous driving system passed the technical regulations approval of the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) in December 2021, becoming the first Auto company in the world to be certified by the United Nations regulation UN-R157.
In addition, the first Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans equipped with the Intelligent Pilot System will be delivered in the first half of this year.
