Wideye® by AGC to showcase 360° FOV and unique ADAS sensor integrations

Wideye, the AGC Group scale-up specialising in solutions for self-driving vehicle ecosystems, will be at CES 2023 (Las Vegas, from January 5 to 8 2023), where it will unveil new glass innovations for the efficient, reliable and aesthetic integration of optical sensors for ADAS and AV applications. Wideye will exhibit five prototypes proving its ability to address the challenges of mounting sensors anywhere around the vehicle, irrespective of architecture.

The industry’s interest in mounting sensors at multiple locations on the vehicle continues to grow as the market increasingly focuses on ensuring safety for drivers while accelerating the race towards autonomy and self-driving cars. In this context, a 360 degree field of view is critically important and different mounting architectures are being developed. Wideye will leverage its concept car and collaboration with partners to demonstrate its ability to provide the market with solutions that are suitable for each configuration.

1. Wind-shield
The wind-shield was the first location Wideye worked with starting in 2016, believing it to be the best site for on-board integration. The high, central position of the sensors behind the car’s wind-shield provides a commanding vantage point, ideal for highway pilot and traffic jam pilot functions. Mounting sensors behind the existing glass automatically ensures they are protected and does not affect aesthetics. This trend may be widely adopted by the market, with the first mass production vehicles featuring wind-shield-mounted LiDAR due to hit the market as early as 2023. Wideye will present the functional co-integration of LiDAR with three cameras, thereby widening FOV and enhancing range detection.

2. Roof
The roof is in a position from which it is possible to monitor the vehicle’s surroundings with a view to enhancing safety by providing reliable and optimised environment perception information from the smallest possible rooftop footprint. With the rooftop mount set to go increasingly mainstream in the years ahead thanks to its elevated position, Wideye will be delighted to show how it successfully integrates a LiDAR unit in this location by encapsulating it in an all-glass roof, proving that this kind of integration delivers the perfect compromise between performance and design.

3. B-pillar
The B-pillar is an area where OEMs are looking to combine functions: merging ADAS and HMI applications by mounting cameras and LiDAR sensors at the same location. This high position on the side of the vehicle is perfect for detecting obstacles since it enables parking space detection and 3D mapping all around the vehicle. In view of the optical, reliability, durability and robustness requirements demanded by the industry, glass is the perfect material for B-pillars – and Wideye will show how mounting sensors in this location works in real life.

4. Fender
An alternative side-mounted location – the fender – will also be demonstrated. Visitors to the show will see that a sensor can be mounted discreetly on the fender of any vehicle without compromising on aesthetics. Glass can be deployed to ensure that sensors are incorporated seamlessly into the styling of the vehicle. Indeed, glass is the ideal material, enabling car makers to fully customise the look of their vehicles while ensuring that sensors can perform their primary function of detecting objects.

5. Bumper
The bumper is the traditional home for sensors of all kinds (radar, LiDAR, etc.). Carmakers can still use this location to leverage their current system architecture and aesthetics. At CES 2023, Wideye will demonstrate the superior quality of its glass when used in LiDAR housings located in the grill or bumper.

Growing industry interest in optical sensor integrations has seen Wideye nominated for several business awards for mass production programmes in different product segments, such as wind-shield-mounted LiDAR and LiDAR glass covers and trim for roof-line-mounted LiDAR units. “This confirms Wideye’s strategic and international path as a pioneering premium brand for optical glass sensor integration. Looking beyond the ambitious vision that drives our business, we are proud that industrialisation is now under way, with the manufacturing division growing and the first production lines coming on stream and receiving customer validation. All this clearly demonstrates Wideye’s ability to provide and deliver global leadership,” said Wideye CEO Quentin Fraselle.

Wideye Rhino, a branch dedicated to the industrial vehicle and smart infrastructure markets, will also present their solutions for mounting and protecting LiDAR units in harsh environments for mining, freight transport, farming and construction vehicles, as well as in urban environments for traffic monitoring, safety, security and crowd analytics, both indoors and outdoors.