LiDAR technology in Apple’s iPAD OS

LiDAR technology in Apple’s iPAD OS

The breakthrough LiDAR Scanner enables capabilities never possible on any mobile device.  The Iphone in 2020 and earlier the self driving car often referred to this technology as well as the technological mastermind Elon Musk discarded the technology.

       “LiDAR is a fool's errand,” Musk said at Tesla's recent Autonomy Day.

Therefore, it becomes important to understand the LiDAR technology.

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What is the LiDAR Scanner in Apple’s iPadOS?

The LiDAR Scanner measures the distance to surrounding objects up to 5 meters away, works both indoors and outdoors, and operates at the photon level at nano-second speeds.

 New depth frameworks in iPadOS combine depth points measured by the LiDAR Scanner, data from both cameras and motion sensors, and is enhanced by computer vision algorithms on the A12Z Bionic for a more detailed understanding of a scene. The tight integration of these elements enables a whole new class of AR experiences on iPad Pro.
Previously, for the scanning and motion sensors the ARkit app was used.

What LiDAR will change in the IPadOS?

It may have an improved motion capture and people occlusion. Using the latest update to ARKit with a new Scene Geometry API, developers can harness the power of the new LiDAR Scanner to unleash scenarios never before possible.

The LiDAR Scanner improves the Measure app, making it faster and easier to automatically calculate someone’s height, while helpful vertical and edge guides automatically appear to let users more quickly and accurately measure objects.

 The Measure app also now comes with Ruler View for more granular measurements and allows users to save a list of all measurements, complete with screenshots for future use.

LiDAR will be an even greater game-changer on iPhone, as it will dramatically expand the installed base of LiDAR-capable users.

 In one year, Apple will have many tens of millions of users on LiDAR-equipped hardware, enabling a base for developers to take advantage of its features.

One of the largest problems for Google's Tango was that developers had no incentive to code specifically for it, because the hardware to use it was only installed on a few niche models. There was never any realistic hope that large numbers of Android users would end up with Tango phones because the main attraction to Android is cheapness.

By rapidly adding LiDAR hardware across its product line, Apple will further differentiate iOS and establish its platforms as the way to develop cutting edge AR applications empowered by LiDAR's "time of flight" sensing data.

The obvious next big step for AR is shifting advanced depth imaging sensors to display computer-generated graphics on a lens you look through, rather than just mixing them with video to create a composite, "augmented" depiction of reality.

With development attached to Apple's software and the unique hardware of its installed base, it will be very difficult for rivals to ship out anything comparable.

What is LiDAR?

LiDAR — Light Detection and Ranging — is a remote sensing method used to examine the surface of the Earth. ... LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth.

Who is Velodyne LiDAR?

Velodyne LiDAR. Velodyne LiDAR is a Silicon Valley-based LiDAR technology company spun off from Velodyne Acoustics. As of August 2016, the company worked with 25 self-driving car programs.

Most companies working on autonomous vehicles – including Ford, GM Cruise, Uber and Waymo – think LiDAR is an essential part of the sensor suite. But not Tesla. Its vehicles don't have LiDAR and rely on radar, GPS, maps and other cameras and sensors.

LiDAR is not safe for the human eye.

The safety rating of a LiDAR depends on the power, divergence angle, pulse duration, exposure direction, as well as the wavelength. Under these conditions, a 1550-nm laser can safely emit more power than a 905-nm laser before it becomes non-eye safe.

Can LiDAR see through walls?

LiDAR is a revolutionary technology that can map out an area with a stunning level of detail, including the ability to see through walls, trees, and other obstacles.

Is LiDAR more accurate than Radar?

RADAR uses radio waves (Longer Wavelength), while LIDAR uses Light waves (Shorter Wavelength). 2. LIDAR is more accurate than RADAR as it uses shorter wavelength. ... While LIDAR is used in applications where the detection of exact shape and size of the object is necessary

There are certain rumours about LiDAR--

1. LiDAR is a very high-tech solution.

The principle of LiDAR is actually quite simple. Like bats that use sound waves during echolocation to register when the waves bounce back from objects in order to measure distances, LiDAR utilizes light waves from a laser to perform this function.

LiDAR sends a pulse and measures the time it takes to reflect back from objects. Since the speed of light is constant, distance can be readily calculated by measuring the time it takes for the beam to return.

This fundamental working principle hasn’t changed in the past half-century; thus, the working principle has remained rather straightforward when developing LiDAR technology.

2. LiDAR is expensive.

While this was true for a very long time, mostly due to the fact that laser sources were expensive, the invention of the laser diode dramatically lowered the cost of LiDAR.

Today, a visible pulsed laser diode can be obtained for less than $1, accounting for a very small fraction of the total cost to build a LiDAR.

Imaging LiDAR allows for more than a single point to be measured, and the high cost of building these systems is typically associated with the manufacturing method.

By adopting innovative methods to make these systems, for instance, Cepton’s Micron Motion Technology (MMT) platform, imaging LiDAR can be manufactured at a cost of no more than a couple hundred dollars.

Cepton’s automotive LiDAR point cloud 360-degree surround view.

3. Solid-state LiDAR is the best approach because it has no moving parts.

Solid-state LiDAR with no moving parts only improves the reliability of the LiDAR system’s construction. This is because a solid-state LiDAR structure is free of wear and tear that would be caused by rotating or frictional parts.

However, this advantage means that some performance sacrifices will have to be made, including a reduction in measurement range, smaller field of view, and more susceptibility to ambient light sources like sunlight.

In addition, the high cost associated with manufacturing solid-state LiDAR prohibits it from being massively deployed for the consumer market soon.

4. Flash LiDAR is the best LiDAR for imaging.

NASA uses flash LiDAR for its space-station docking operations because it enables high resolution and long-distance imaging to see across distances in space.

Unfortunately, this system is far too expensive for integration into fleets of autonomous vehicles—it can cost well over one million dollars per unit due to the high cost associated with the components used for 1550-nm wavelength.

 It also is very power intensive, consuming up to 100 kW of power. While the imaging performance of flash LiDAR is the best available on the market, there will be no everyday automobile that could adopt such an expensive system.

5. LiDAR must operate infrared wavelengths.

LiDAR can operate at any wavelength if a short pulse is able to be generated.

In fact, a number of survey LiDAR systems work with visible green lasers. For automobile applications, any visible laser would be a significant distraction to nearby traffic.

As a result, infrared wavelengths are usually chosen since they’re not visible to the human eye.

6. LiDAR is not safe for the human eye.

Eye safety is a complex combination of factors that aren’t just based on the wavelength of a laser.

The safety rating of a LiDAR depends on the power, divergence angle, pulse duration, exposure direction, as well as the wavelength.

Under these conditions, a 1550-nm laser can safely emit more power than a 905-nm laser before it becomes non-eye safe. Meanwhile, 905-nm lasers are more popular since they’re more cost-efficient.

To help make these 905-nm lasers eye safe, engineers have devised sensitive optical detectors that don’t require the use of high-power lasers.

7. LiDAR can’t work in poor weather conditions.

LiDAR is an optical device just like a camera, so if fog is heavy enough to block all light transmission, LiDAR could become less effective.

However, LiDAR will still provide valuable data in typical road conditions. Self-driving cars of the future will integrate a mix of cameras, radar systems, and LiDAR to balance out the advantages and disadvantages of each solution—no one system is perfect—to keep passengers safe in a variety of different weather conditions.

8. LiDAR can only be used for automobiles.

Utilizing LiDAR for automobile applications is a relatively new trend. When it was first invented, LiDAR was most notably utilized for measuring the distance between the earth and the moon; it was also often used to measure weather systems.

 Today, LiDAR can be employed for any application that requires distance information of an object.

In addition to self-driving cars, LiDAR is ideal for numerous transportation solutions, including trains, shuttles, and trucks.

LiDAR is also being used with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for a variety of applications, such as mapping disaster-stricken areas and surveying agriculture fields. On top of that, robots and other types of smart machines are using LiDAR for a range of industrial applications.

As the cost of LiDAR continues to drop, it’s expected that LiDAR will be integrated into a wider range of machines, such as putting LiDAR in intersections to monitor traffic, security systems to protect property, and many other applications.

9. LiDAR won’t be incorporated into vehicles for another decade.

The promise of autonomous cars is more than just hype. Pilot programs are being conducted around the world to test out autonomous cars, shuttles, and other solutions to make transportation safer.

In the next few years, we’ll see LiDAR integrated into cars with Level 3 active safety features that provide a range of benefits like assistance with accelerating, steering, and braking. We’ll then see LiDAR integrated into Level 4 features that provide cars with even more autonomous functions.

The timing of when fully self-driving cars (Level 5) becomes mainstream depends on a number of factors beyond the technology itself, including government regulations and local infrastructure.

10. LiDAR can be fully replaced by cameras, radar, or a combination of the two.

The most important characteristic of LiDAR is its high spatial resolution while measuring 3D objects. Radar is great for determining the speed at which other objects are moving and can detect a stopped vehicle ahead, but it can’t determine whether a stopped vehicle or other object is in the driver’s lane or on the shoulder.

A camera becomes rather useless when there isn’t enough ambient lighting; and when it’s dark, a camera can only see as far as the headlights, which can be quite dangerous. In addition, cameras have difficulty navigating when wet roads create glare. 

Therefore, the combination of LiDAR with cameras and radar will be essential for making self-driving cars safe.

11. FMCW LiDAR is better than ToF LiDAR.

Frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) LiDAR measures the phase difference of an optical wave instead of its time-of-flight (ToF); thus, it’s capable of measuring with greater accuracy (from millimeters to microns).

This high level of accuracy is important for survey applications, while it’s not needed for obstacle detection for automobiles, which only require a centimeter level of accuracy. The extra complexity and associated costs of FMCW LiDAR make it less attractive even for Level 4 to 5 applications in cars.

It’s clear that LiDAR technology will play a pivotal role in reshaping transportation by making it safer. It will also increase the efficiency of a number of other industries, including industrial automation and mapping.

LiDAR_by_lindes_500x280.jpg

Large technological advances like may have possible implications for surveillance.
LiDAR is like radar except it uses lasers instead of sound radio waves—firing off bursts of lasers in quick succession to collect precise distance measurements in order to create a three-dimensional map of any space.
 Many good uses are being discovered for this—LiDAR is used by geologists to create highly detailed maps of the earth’s surface, for example.
Archaeologists used the technology to discover clusters of architectural structures hidden in the Honduran rainforest, which some claimed to be the legendary lost city of La Ciudad Blanca (“the White City”). LiDAR was also used to reveal Mayan ruins in the jungles of Peru and an ancient Khmer city in Cambodia.
 LiDAR is also used by Google and other makers of robotic cars to help the vehicles sense their surroundings.
The technology is apparently advancing rapidly.
In 2013, LiDAR was used to reveal vast hidden structures around the famous Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia.
The Angkor Wat scanning operation took only 20 hours to capture imagery that would have taken many years to assemble on the ground, if at all.

The newer system that Technology Review is now reporting on, however, is four times faster and more detailed, going from one-meter resolution to a resolution of 30 centimeters. And in its latest story Technology Review reports on a new generation of the technology that is another 10 times better still and could have done the Angkor Wat job in about half an hour.

Obviously one potential surveillance use of LiDAR is for manned or unmanned aerial surveillance. LiDAR can be used not only for highly detailed 3D images—with the ability to see through some barriers such as foliage—but also for such functions as change detection, in which even small changes in a landscape, such as tire tracks, are automatically flagged.

LiDAR can also be used to track people through different locations, including crowded spaces. Combined with other technologies such as face recognition or cell phone tracking, the technology could prove a powerful part of a tracking system.

 There may well be other clever uses for this technology that nobody has thought of yet.

Of course, we don’t know whether, given all the technologies we’re facing, LiDAR will be significant in the surveillance space. But the larger point here is, we have a lot of enormously powerful sensing and surveillance technologies coming at us from all directions.

When it comes to our privacy laws and institutions, we’re in no way ready for the continuing onslaught.