LIANDRI aims at cost-effective, highly-integrated LIDAR technology. The specific objectives are:

Objective 1. Time-of-flight sensor for mirror-less LIDAR applications
LIANDRI will alleviate traditional LIDAR systems from mirror-based approaches through a sophisticated detector able to electronically steer its field of view. The applied time-of-flight technology leads to a 3D image through accurate acquisition of a very short light pulse even without additional laser scanning or bulky stereoscopic camera and even under unfavorable lighting conditions, such as frontlighting. With this the sensor is realized without mechanically challenging or costly elements, which unlocks the cost credentials required for a mass market such as automotive LIDAR.

Objective 2. High-power short-pulse light emission at long range
Legacy time-of-flight reception principles rely on a continuous-wave light seed. Modulation of the seed light in terms of intense yet timely confined pulses can improve the quality of the obtained sensor data. A fine resolution that goes along with a very short pulse duration in the order of nanoseconds at very low duty cycles and within eye-safe operation will be enabled through fast high-power electronics.

Objective 3. Photonics-enabled beam-steering for energy-conscious sensing.
LIANDRI will also endeavor a forward-looking approach with respect to light emission, augmented through integrated photonics. Fast tuning over a wide field-of-view at high update rate are the ultimate targets for the developed LIDAR technology.

Objective 4. Fabrication of a LIDAR demonstrator for automotive and industrial applications.
Within the lifetime of LIANDRI, all constituent technologies will be blended to yield demonstrators for the envisaged LIDAR applications in the automotive and industrial sector, including its novel componentry for reception and emission, as well as the required signal processing resources.