dSPACE and Cepton Partner to Provide 3D Lidar Simulation for ADAS and Autonomous Applications

Collaboration advances the deployment of lidar solutions with real-time simulations and virtual test drives

Paderborn, Germany– July 27, 2021 – Cepton, a Silicon Valley-based supplier of state-of-the-art, intelligent lidar-based solutions, and dSPACE, a leading provider of simulation and validation solutions, are collaborating closely to enable easier adoption of lidar technology in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous vehicles (AV) and other autonomous applications. The partnership enables dSPACE to integrate Cepton’s lidar sensors into its simulation tool chain, thereby helping customers accelerate their development using Cepton lidars.

Soon after Cepton’s unveiling of Nova, a groundbreaking, miniature, wide field of view lidar sensor, dSPACE worked with Cepton to deliver simulation solutions for this new sensor. dSPACE enables customers to accurately simulate the Nova scan pattern and replicate the communication protocol to inject the synthetic point cloud directly into a device under test. Nova’s unique combination of a wide horizontal and vertical field of view in a low-power, very compact form factor allows for achievements that current sensor technologies are lacking, such as accurate object and obstacle detection, free space estimation, and collision-free autonomous navigation for vehicles and robots.

The two companies started their collaboration on an initial proof of concept using the Cepton Vista®-P60, highlighting the dense field-of-view coverage of Cepton MMT® lidars. The dSPACE simulation environment provides an accurate sensor model and environment simulation so that engineers can test and validate their perception stack. With the dSPACE simulation tool chain, engineers can explore different sensor models and configurations as well as in-vehicle or in-robot placement options. Thanks to the diverse scenarios that the simulation platform provides, engineers can assess the expected sensor performance even in difficult and complex surroundings involving vehicles, other road users, sidewalks, traffic signs, static obstacles, and other objects.

The collaboration between dSPACE and Cepton aims to provide high-fidelity simulation models that can be used in all phases of development, from early model-in-the-loop (MIL) analyses to hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) scenarios.

“dSPACE provides customers around the world with efficient methods for generating test data, supporting the automotive industry in the development of robust and safe ADAS， autonomous driving and other autonomous applications. With this collaboration, we ensure that early validation brings vehicles with Cepton’s high-performance lidars to the road quickly,” explains Caius Seiger, Product Manager for Sensor Simulation at dSPACE.

 “We are excited with the accuracy of dSPACE simulations and their ability to provide customers a deeper understanding of Cepton’s powerful and unique MMT® scan patterns,” said Henri Haefner, Director of Product Management and Marketing at Cepton. “Our partnership will really help customers in their deployment of lidar-equipped vehicles and robots, to maximize safety with higher levels of autonomy. We look forward to collaborating with dSPACE to explore more sensor models in our product portfolio and help our customers accelerate development of their solutions.”