Chinese EV startup Li Auto‘s LI founder and CEO Li Xiang on Friday reportedly backed the use of LiDAR technology in the company’s vehicles, saying it is necessary on the roads in China.
What Happened: "I believe that if Musk had ever driven on different highways in China deep in the night, he would have chosen to keep a LiDAR in the front as well," Li Xiang said at an AI talk event on Friday, as reported by CNEVPOST. The CEO was responding to a question on why Li Auto continues to use LiDAR when Tesla doesn’t.
"China is different from the US. If you regularly drive at night in China, you’ll see large trucks with broken taillights, and the large trucks with broken taillights maybe even parked right on the main road," the CEO said while adding that the company will continue to use the technology in future vehicle models. LiDAR, he said, helps ensure safety on the road.
LiDAR, short for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to measure distances and create detailed three-dimensional representations of surfaces and objects.
Why It Matters: Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk has previously criticized LiDAR, terming it a “crutch“. None of the company's sold vehicles have lidars. In 2022, the company also removed ultrasonic sensors from its vehicles to rely solely on cameras.
"Did my best to warn people that LiDAR isn’t optimal for cars. Roads are designed for biological neural nets & eyes, so digital neural nets & cameras will work best," Musk said in Aug. 2023.
Chinese EV maker XPeng also dropped of use of LiDAR in its new P7+ sedan launched last month.
However, not all are in agreement.
“…you really do need significantly more hardware than Tesla is putting in the vehicles to build a robotaxi that’s not just as safe but especially safer than a human,” Zoox co-founder Jesse Levinson opined in October while adding that there is a need for sensor data despite advancements in AI to protect against camera malfunctions and ensure fully safe rides.
Alphabet Inc.'s autonomous ride-hail company Waymo also continues to use LiDAR in its robotaxis.
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