LiDAR will Free the Autonomous Car from Human Backup Drivers, Says CEO of Low-Cost LiDAR Startup Innoviz

"For any driving decision made by a machine you need two sources of information for validation and redundancy," Innoviz Technologies Ltd. CEO Omer Keilaf said Tuesday. In cars like Tesla, where the camera controls the car, the radar cannot identify small or stationary obstacles on the road, Keilaf explained, which is why such cars require a human driver to serve as support. LiDAR, on the other hand, according to Keilaf, is a sensor that meets all the requirements.

Keilaf spoke at a conference on innovation held jointly by Calcalist and events firm Connecting Leaders Club at the Mondial de l'Automobile auto show in Paris.

Founded in 2016, Israel-based Innoviz develops low-cost, small-size LiDAR systems. Innoviz raised $82 million in investment from backers including Delphi Automotive, Magna International, Samsung, and SoftBank Ventures Korea.