Aeva Technologies Inc. (NYSE: AEVA), known for its LiDAR sensors in the self-driving vehicle market, is making significant strides in the industrial automation sector. The company is preparing to deliver its first commercial sensors to Nikon Corp. (OTC: NINOY) for use in industrial machines, marking a pivotal transition from development to commercialization.
Aeva’s CEO, Soroush Salehian, announced that the company has completed final validation of its LiDAR-on-Chip module for Nikon’s product and is set to begin deliveries in the fourth quarter. This milestone comes after Aeva successfully scaled up its dedicated LiDAR chip manufacturing line at Fabrinet.
The partnership with Nikon is particularly noteworthy as it targets the industrial metrology and inspection equipment market. Nikon’s machines, used by leading automotive and aerospace manufacturers such as BMW and Stellantis, will incorporate Aeva’s sensors to enhance automation in the manufacturing process and improve defect detection during assembly.
Aeva’s Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) 4D LiDAR technology is at the heart of this expansion. The company claims its sensors can achieve micron-level accuracy, a capability not possible with traditional time-of-flight LiDARs. This precision is crucial for industrial metrology and other high-precision measurement applications.
The industrial automation market presents a significant opportunity for Aeva, with projections indicating growth to $44.94 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 6.2%. As factories increasingly adopt automation technologies, sensors like those developed by Aeva are expected to play a critical role in maximizing operational efficiency and equipment effectiveness.
In addition to the Nikon partnership, Aeva has recently expanded its collaboration with SICK AG, a global provider of sensor-based solutions for industrial applications. This partnership aims to incorporate Aeva’s FMCW technology into SICK’s portfolio of high-accuracy contactless sensors for various factory automation applications.
Under this collaboration, Aeva will provide SICK with its FMCW sensor technology, including the Aeva CoreVision sensing module and digital signal processing algorithms. These components are designed for micrometer-precision detection at long standoff distances and can measure velocity with micrometer-per-second accuracy.
Dr. Simon Brugger, Senior Vice President of Research & Development at SICK, expressed enthusiasm about the potential of Aeva’s technology for serving customers in various industrial applications where precision contactless sensing is essential to manufacturing automation and industrial processes.
Mina Rezk, Co-founder and CTO at Aeva, highlighted the significance of SICK’s selection, stating it validates the capabilities, versatility, and economies of scale of Aeva’s FMCW technology. He expressed excitement about the potential to disrupt the multi-billion dollar precision sensing market through this expanded collaboration.
As Aeva Technologies continues to develop its presence in both the automotive and industrial automation sectors, its innovative FMCW LiDAR technology positions the company to potentially capture a significant share of the growing market for high-precision sensing solutions in manufacturing and quality control processes.
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