
Embotech AG, a provider of autonomous driving solutions for logistics, recently announced a collaboration with Outsight, a LiDAR software company and Hesai, a LiDAR hardware manufacturer, to deliver cutting-edge LiDAR technology and perception software for Embotech’s AVM technology deployed in BMW facilities and known internally at BMW as Automated Driving In-Plant (AFW).
Within this AVN solution, Outsight plays a role with its advanced LiDAR software platform that tracks the vehicle and the surrounding obstacles within BMW's production facilities, while Hesai supplies its industry-leading LiDAR sensors, acting as the "eyes" of the AVM system.
Initially implemented for the BMW 5 Series and 7 Series in Dingolfing, Germany, the platform is now also in use for the MINI Countryman and other BMW models manufactured in Leipzig.
Using this new setup, new vehicles drive fully autonomously along a route of more than one kilometer, from the two assembly halls, through the “short test course”, to the plant’s finishing area.
At the Dingolfing plant, while the vehicles drive themselves to the finishing area, the factory establishes a secure connection to the vehicles, controlling their movement through the quality assurance test drive. This approach eliminates the need to transport human workers back to the production line after each car has reached its final parking destination.
The integrated solution is now actively supporting the marshalling of newly manufactured vehicles through various stages of the production and logistics process in three BMW facilities, marking the initial phase in a global rollout to multiple plants across Europe and North America.
Embotech, Outsight, and Hesai have successfully collaborated for several years, jointly advancing LiDAR and perception solutions for autonomous driving. The companies are driving innovation in LiDAR as well as perception technology.