Ouster collaborates with NVIDIA to enables highly accurate 3D perception

Ouster, a leading provider of high-resolution LiDAR sensors for autonomous vehicles, robotics, and mapping, is working with NVIDIA to provide LiDAR sensors for use in Level 3 to Level 5 autonomous driving systems being developed by major global OEMs targeting production in 2022.

The LiDAR perception system, based on the high-resolution Ouster OS2 LiDAR, runs on the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX platform. NVIDIA's full-stack software delivers 360-degree sensor processing, mapping, and path planning.

In anticipation of advanced series vehicle production in 2022, NVIDIA will use Ouster LiDAR sensors for development as it works with OEMs to bring safe, reliable autonomous vehicles to market. Ouster LiDAR sensors satisfy multiple use cases across commercial autonomous vehicle applications utilising the NVIDIA DRIVE platform, including public transportation, freight, refuse and recycling collection, construction, mining, and more.

“Commercial autonomous vehicles have to withstand some of the world's most demanding environments,” said Ouster CEO Angus Pacala. “The OS2's reliability and resolution make it the clear choice for NVIDIA's OEM partners that require the highest level of dependability.”

For autonomous driving systems, Ouster's structured lidar data can increase input processing speeds by up to 100-times over traditional unstructured lidar data when using vector processors like NVIDIA GPUs. This enables faster object recognition and lower power requirements for the autonomous driving system.

“Ouster sensors are an excellent solution for lidar perception due to their resolution, price, and reliability,” said Gary Hicok, Senior Vice President of Automotive Hardware and Systems at NVIDIA. “Integrating dependable, 360-degree sensors into NVIDIA's full software stack is a crucial step in commercializing self-driving technology.”

The work by Ouster and NVIDIA will enable the further development of a flexible, scalable autonomous driving system that meets the reliability and safety needs of commercial OEM customers.