Pony.ai Launches Autonomous Driving Sensing Platform With Lidar Maker Luminar

Pony.ai, an autonomous driving technology company, has unveiled its newly designed sensing platform in collaboration with lidar maker Luminar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: LAZR).

Pony.ai is set to deploy automotive-grade production autonomous fleets in 2023 globally. The next-generation fleet will integrate Luminar’s Iris and feature a multi-sensor 360-degree configuration and a slimmest profile roofline at just 10cm off of the vehicle roof.

The goal of the partnership is to increase safe, autonomous driving in complex urban environments with an integrated sensor design that leads advanced development to production scale.

Pony.ai has also announced it has driven more than five million kilometres across an operational coverage area of over 850 km² and has provided more than 220,000 Robotaxi rides.

James Peng, CEO and Founder of Pony.ai. “Partnering with Luminar is a critical enabling milestone for Pony.ai as we build our next-generation system and prepare for large-scale series production . Luminar is in a league of their own when it comes to lidar and shares our belief that delivering autonomous mobility globally will enable a safe and sustainable future. We’re excited to realize that vision together with them.”

Austin Russell, Founder and CEO of Luminar, adds: “We’re leveraging the full extent of the technology and product development work we’ve accomplished over the years, and directly re-applying it to Pony.ai’s platform and fleet. This partnership marks a significant milestone towards the realization of safe autonomous Robotaxi services in the years to come.”

Pony.ai’s has expanded its Robotaxi service across five cities in China and the U.S., including Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Irvine and Fremont, CA. Pony.ai began testing China’s first Robotaxi service, PonyPilot, in late 2018 in Guangzhou, and in 2019 became the first company to roll out a public-facing Robotaxi service in California.