YICAI, China — Polestone 01, a full-size electric sport-utility released August 22 to the Chinese market, is the first production vehicle to feature Hesai’s fully solid-state lidar modules.
The SUV’s intelligent driving system features a long-range lidar – AT128, and two blind-spot fully solid-state lidars – FT120. The combination of three lidars covers a horizontal FOV (field of view) of 280°, providing ultra-high resolution 3D perception capability.
Polestone 01 is also the world’s first series-production vehicle to feature solid-state lidars.
As a family-size SUV model designed for outdoor adventures, Polestone 01 has a commanding exterior design while offering a comfortable driving experience across all kinds of terrains such as snowy roads, sand, waters, and other unpaved roads, drastically transforming the driving experience. The intelligent driving functionality supports continuous updates to Urban NOA, highway NOA, and other features.
Polestone 01 features Hesai’s FT120, the world’s first solid-state lidar to be installed on a serious production vehicle model. Without any moving parts, FT120 is not only more reliable, but also much smaller than traditional lidars. In addition, FT120 has a window that is approximately 30% smaller than a typical hybrid solid-stated lidar, which can be seamlessly integrated into the vehicle.
Moreover, the FT120 has an ultra-wide FOV of 100° (H) × 75° (V). Comparing hybrid solid-state lidar with a much smaller FOV, FT120 increases the verticle FOV from 25° to 75°, which effectively reduces blind spots by over 70%.
In addition to detecting larger obstacles such as overhead road signs, railings, and parking platforms, the FT120 can also accurately detect children, pets, traffic cones, as well as adjacent lane markings.
A smarter driving experience in a wide range of scenarios
With the support of the three lidars, Polestone 01 can reliably detect objects even in complete darkness or backlit lighting conditions. The elevation from 2D to 3D high-precision perception has significantly improved the safety of intelligent driving.
When parked, Polestone 01’s “Sentry Mode” uses lidars to monitor the vehicle’s surroundings and alerts the driver if any person or animal approaches.
In addition, lidars can help the vehicle better avoid obstacles that vision algorithms are not trained for. Polestone 01 can detect obstacles on both sides of the vehicle and modify its route in advance.
Compared with vehicles that solely rely on cameras and millimeter wave radars, the addition of lidars can help detect obstacles much more accurately. With lidar, Polestone 01 can easily navigate through unknown terrains and complex road conditions.
Polestone 01 is not only a great choice for daily commutes, but also for long road trips with family. It offers cutting-edge sensor technology and a highly intelligent driving system that meets a diverse range of needs. The combination of short-range and long-range lidars has great potential to unlock even more advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) functionalities and scenarios, providing customers with a smarter and safer driving experience.