Chinese lidar maker Hesai Group (HSAI) is set to mass-produce a new color-detecting system that will help improve the safety of self-driving cars including those powered by Nvidia (NVDA) – particularly around traffic lights.
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According to a Reuters report, Hesai’s new EXT lidar, powered by its proprietary chip Picasso, is the industry’s first to integrate spatial and color detection in one device. Set for mass production later this year, the product will debut in flagship vehicles by 2027, according to co-founder Sun Kai.
Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is an active remote sensing technology that uses pulsed laser light to measure distances to the Earth’s surface and objects.
The breakthrough fits in with the Chinese auto industry’s shift this year to value-driven innovation and away from cost-cutting, CEO David Li added. “If the industry focuses solely on pricing, efforts will disproportionately go toward cost-cutting, sacrificing opportunities for better solutions that create greater value,” Li said.
Hesai supplies lidar systems to China’s leading manufacturers of electric cars, including Li Auto (LI), Xiaomi (XIACF) and BYD (BYDDY), and captured more than 40% of the market in 2025, according to the Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute.
Lidar Could Also Help Humanoids
Outside China, it is a primary lidar supplier for Nvidia’s advanced driver assistance systems that will be used by automakers including Mercedes. But other manufacturers are not so keen.
EV giant Tesla (TSLA), for example, favors camera-only systems while Xpeng (XPEV) last year said it would remove lidar from new models in favor of AI-driven technologies.
However, Sun believes there is major growth potential for lidar in self-driving cars, particularly when the inclusion of color means it can distinguish a red traffic light from a green one.
He also believes it could be used in the development of humanoid robots to give them a better understanding of real-world streets and parks.
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