Quanergy solid-state lidar selected for VRCO vertical-take-off-and-landing aircraft

Sept. 30, 2018

VRCO will exclusively use Quanergy's S3 solid-state lidar in the testing and market release versions of the aircraft.

A conceptual image shows how a vertical take-off and landing craft from VRCO (at left) will use lidar data from solid-state Quanergy sensors to improve situational awareness and safety of its passenger aircraft.

Quanergy Systems (Sunnyvale, CA), designer and developer of solid-state light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors and smart sensing solutions, and VRCO (Derbyshire, England), designer and manufacturer of the luxury high-end e-VTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) craft, the NeoXcraft XP2, announced that VRCO will exclusively use Quanergy’s S3 solid-state lidar sensors in the testing and market release versions of the aircraft.

The NeoXcraft XP2, which VRCO and the University of Derby unveiled in late 2017 and intend to launch in 2020, is a two-passenger e-VTOL high-speed land, air, and water capable craft. The craft can scan and memorize take-off locations and store the data for use on the next approach to the same location. Quanergy's innovative S3 solid state LiDAR sensor will be used for downward and forward scanning to enhance the craft's safety, providing the NeoXcraft with the ability to detect, sense, and avoid objects upon takeoff, approach and landing.

"VRCO is pleased with the support from Quanergy, and the use of the S3 LiDAR sensor provides a new level of enhanced safety for the NeoXcraft," said Michael Smith, chairman of VRCO. "Moving forward, all NeoXcraft will feature the S3 sensors as standard."

Quanergy says its S3 is the first and only compact, low-cost, automotive-grade solid-state lidar sensor, with the highest level of performance and reliability. Unlike its mechanical counterparts, the S3 uses optical phased array technology. This technology enables electronic laser beam steering for real-time scanning and situational analysis without any moving parts. The use of this specialized technology will further enhance the safety of the NeoXcraft during take-off and particularly upon landing when high precision is required, as is the case when landing on a superyacht.

In addition to its technical achievements, the compact design of the S3 enables the sensor to be concealed in the body of the NeoXcraft. This allows for real-time 3D mapping and object detection, tracking and classification, without compromising the aesthetics or aerodynamics of the craft.

SOURCE: Quanergy; https://quanergy.com/wp-content/uploads/VRCO-PR.pdf

About the Author

Gail Overton | Senior Editor (2004-2020)

Gail has more than 30 years of engineering, marketing, product management, and editorial experience in the photonics and optical communications industry. Before joining the staff at Laser Focus World in 2004, she held many product management and product marketing roles in the fiber-optics industry, most notably at Hughes (El Segundo, CA), GTE Labs (Waltham, MA), Corning (Corning, NY), Photon Kinetics (Beaverton, OR), and Newport Corporation (Irvine, CA). During her marketing career, Gail published articles in WDM Solutions and Sensors magazine and traveled internationally to conduct product and sales training. Gail received her BS degree in physics, with an emphasis in optics, from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA in May 1986.