@CES PreAct Tech to Show New Flash LiDAR–Sahara, Borrego & Moab

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PreAct Technologies (PreAct), an Oregon-based developer of near-field flash LiDAR technology, announced a line of new flash LiDAR sensors – Sahara™, Borrego™ and Moab™ – to address various use cases across multiple industries including agriculture, healthcare, smart cities, retail, security, transportation, education or any field that requires detailed 3D mapping and modeling. The high-performance, low-cost sensor solutions provide the $30 billion near field sensing market a significantly better alternative to the existing, decades-old technologies that are being used today.

“The more we interacted with customers and prospects, the more we realized how we could take our core technology and create multiple sensors to meet the needs of various markets,” said Paul Drysch, Co-Founder and CEO of PreAct Technologies. “The flexibility and software-definability of our technology enables the creation of different form factors that not only out-perform existing technology being used today, but also meet the regulatory hurdles around data privacy as well as consumer demands for better safety and more convenience.”

The following sensors will debut publicly at CES for the first time:

SAHARA

Sahara is perfect for use cases that are outdoors and require up to 20 meters sensing capabilities, such as robotics, automotive, trucking and university research. It has a IP69K rating and holds up in harsh ambient light settings. The small packaging is designed for flexibility of placement at 110mm x 45mm x 33mm.

Field of View (FOV)

70 x 52.5 degrees
Resolution H & V

320 x 240 (77k) Pixels
Range

12 meters @ 10% reflective target (2 milliseconds integration time)
Power

6 – 42 watts based on software selectable illumination and frame rate
Depth Accuracy

< 2% error
Depth Information

1.4 million points per second

BORREGO

The Borrego sensor is designed to provide long, narrow space coverage for security, logistics and agriculture applications. The “out of the way” undetectable design has a protective mounting secured behind a support beam, positioning Borrego to not be an obstruction to precious cargo or draw attention. Bluetooth connectivity gives options in mounting placement and also reduces costs in installation. Accurate volume determination of a cargo container is an example of an application perfectly suited for Borrego.

FOV

108 x 77 degrees
Resolution H & V

320 x 240 (77k pixels)
Range

16.5 meters @ 20% reflectivity
Power

Low power standby 4 watts (typ)

MOAB

Combining a higher-power version of PreAct’s general purpose LiDAR sensor, Mojave, and the AI capabilities of Nvidia’s Jetson Nano, Moab is best suited for education, healthcare, smart cities, ITS, agriculture, retail, security applications. With its flexible integration, Moab supports wireless communication (4G LTE, WIFI) and multiple I/O (Ethernet, USB-C), and can stand up to industrial indoor applications. Moab’s strong AI-on-the-edge capability extends its applications to people counting in retail settings, inventory management, public transportation monitoring for safety, patient monitoring, and much more. The integrated “all in one box” packaging means that developers just need to plug Moab into their system and start developing.

FOV

108 x 77 degrees
Resolution H & V

320 x 240 (77k) pixels
Range

7 meters @ 10% reflectivity
Power

30 watts maximum

In April of this year, PreAct launched Mojave™, the industry’s first software-definable flash LiDAR. With its software-definable capabilities, depth accuracy error of less than 2%, and a single unit retail cost of $350, Mojave is the first truly mass-market LiDAR. Mojave is currently distributed globally by Amazon, Brevan Electronics, Arrow Electronics and Digikey.

All PreAct sensors are GDPR compliant and 100% solid state.