Ouster (company)

Ouster is an American lidar technology company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It builds high-resolution 3D lidar sensors for use in autonomous vehicles, robotics, drones, mapping, defense, and security systems.[3][4][5][6]

Ouster
TypePrivate
IndustryLidar
Founded2015
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, United States
Key people
  • Angus Pacala, Co-Founder and CEO[1]
  • Mark Frichtl, Co-Founder and CTO[1]
ProductsLidar
Number of employees
125[2] (2019)
Websiteouster.com

Its sensors produce images from ambient infrared, with software that enables vehicle's sensing and mapping functions.[7][8]

History

Angus Pacala and Mark Frichtl founded Ouster in 2015, along with two other former Stanford University classmates, after working at laser-based sensing company Quanergy.[9]

In December 2017 he company launched out of stealth, raising a $27 million series A.[10]

In 2019 Ouster raised an additional $60 million in a fundraise led by Runway Growth Capital, with contributions from Silicon Valley Bank, Cox Enterprises, Constellation Tech Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, and Carthona Capital — bringing the company’s total raised to $90 million.[11][12]

Operations

Ouster produces three main categories of lidar sensors with varying sizes and range: the OS0, OS1, and OS2 - these are manufactured in its production facilities in the United States and Thailand. The company has worked with firms in over 15 different industries across 50 countries.[13]

In 2019, Ouster opened new offices in Paris, Shanghai, and Hong Kong in order to scale its business. The same year Ouster sensors were installed in Postmates’ 'Serve' Autonomous Delivery Rovers operating on sidewalks of Los Angeles, and Kodiak’s trucks operating in Texas adopted its sensors for testing. For the 2019 DARPA SubT challenge coal mines of Pennsylvania, its lidar sensors were mounted on drones.[14][15][16] Ouster lidar sensors are used to provide vehicles with the ability to sense, classify, and understand its immediate environment.[17][18][19]

A point cloud generated from a moving car using a single Ouster OS1 lidar.

Ouster was selected by autonomous trucking startup Ike as Lidar supplier to bring its automated trucking to market.[20] It is also working with Coast Autonomous to produce self-driving passenger shuttles and autonomous utility vehicles.[21] Ouster has also been working with NVIDIA and Volvo Trucks to develop self-driving systems for commercial use.[22]

In 2020 Ouster partnered with Chinese robotics company iDriverplus to provide lidar sensors for autonomous cleaning robots. During the COVID-19 state of emergency, the two companies partnered to outfit a fleet of robots with OS1-64 lidar sensors. The unmanned cleaning and disinfection vehicles were equipped with lidar sensors on the top and front of the robots providing 360° 3D environmental monitoring and obstacle recognition.[23]

Models
Name OS0 OS1 OS2
Model Gen 2[24] Gen 2[24] Gen 2[24]
Announced January 2020 January 2020 January 2020
Channels 32, 64, or 128 32, 64, or 128 32, 64, or 128
Range 55 m 120 m 240 m
Minimum Range 0 m 0 m 0 m
Precision ±1.5 – 5 cm ±1.5 – 5 cm ±1.5 – 5 cm
Field of View (Vertical) 90° 45° 22.5°
Angular Resolution (Vertical) 0.7° 0.35° 0.18°
Field of View (Horizontal) 360º 360º 360º
Angular Resolution (Horizontal) 512, 1024, or 2048 512, 1024, or 2048 512, 1024, or 2048
Rotation Rate 10 or 20 Hz 10 or 20 Hz 10 or 20 Hz
Data Points Per Second 2,621,440 2,621,440 2,621,440
Power Consumption 14 – 20 W 14 – 20 W 18 - 24 W
Operating Voltage 24 V nominal 24 V nominal 24 V nominal
Weight 445 g 455 g 930 g
Diameter 85 mm 85 mm 119.6 mm
Height (with cap) 73.5 mm 73.5 mm 98.5 mm

Awards and recognition
  • In 2020, Ouster was an Honoree at the CES Innovation Awards for the OS2-128 LiDAR sensor within the Vehicle Intelligence & Transportation category.[25][26]

References
  1. "Ouster's Management". Ouster. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  2. Korosec, Kirsten. "Postmates' self-driving delivery rover will see with Ouster's lidar". Autonomous Vehicle Engineering. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  3. "Ouster Profile". Crunchbase. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  4. Deutscher, Maria (January 3, 2019). "With new 128-laser sensor, Ouster ups the ante on LiDAR" (Emerging Tech). Silicon Angle. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  5. Anyadike, Nnamdi (November 3, 2019). "New LiDAR Technologies Boosting Autonomous Driving". Electro Pages. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  6. "Ouster Lidar Powers Next Generation Security and Safety Solutions". Associated Press. November 21, 2019. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  7. "Ouster introduces OS-1 128 Channel LiDAR Sensor". TAAS Magazine. January 3, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  8. Lu, Daniel. "Lidar Mapping with Ouster 3D Sensors". Medium. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  9. Crichton, Danny (December 11, 2017). "LiDAR autonomous sensor startup Ouster announces $27M Series A led by auto powerhouse Cox Enterprises". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  10. Wiggers, Kyle (March 25, 2019). "Ouster raises $60 million to ramp up lidar production" (Entrepreneur). VentureBeat. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  11. Korosec, Kirsten (March 25, 2019). "Lidar startup Ouster raises $60 million in production run-up". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  12. Crichton, Danny (December 11, 2017). "LiDAR autonomous sensor startup Ouster announces $27M Series A led by auto powerhouse Cox Enterprises". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  13. Yoshida, Junko (July 14, 2020). "Ouster Takes on Waymo with Lidar Diversity" (Automotive). EE Times. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  14. "OS2-128 Long-range lidar sensor". CES Technology Association. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  15. Chen, Yining (November 18, 2019). "Global LiDAR Companies and Their Latest Progresses in 2019: Mechanical LiDAR Suppliers". Trend Force Corp. LED Inside. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  16. The Robot Report Staff (November 17, 2019). "Ouster releases OS1-32 high-resolution, 32-channel lidar sensor". The Robot Report. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  17. Williams, Andrew (July 6, 2020). "Lidar Technology in Autonomous Robotic Systems". Novus Light. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  18. Korosec, Kirsten (July 24, 2019). "Postmates' self-driving delivery rover will see with Ouster's lidar". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  19. Ohnsman, Alan (July 24, 2019). "New Laser Eyes For Postmates Delivery Robot, Courtesy Of Ouster". Forbes (Transportation). Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  20. "Ouster OS1 lidar sensor an integral component of Ike commercial trucking platform". LiDAR News. November 5, 2019. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  21. Trego, Linda (July 29, 2019). "Ouster LiDAR speced in two AVs". Autonomous Vehicle Technology. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  22. Yvkoff, Liane (September 18, 2019). "Using Ouster's Lidar, Nvidia Targets 2022 For Commercial Launch Of Self-Driving Vehicles". Forbes (Transportation). Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  23. Muir, James (May 14, 2020). "Ouster provides iDriverplus with lidar". Autonomous Vehicle International. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  24. "Explore and compare different Ouster digital lidar sensors". Ouster. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  25. Cuneo, Elizabeth (January 6, 2020). "Ouster releases two high-resolution digital LiDAR sensors" (CES 2020). Autonomous Vehicle Technology. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  26. "OS2-128 Long-range lidar sensor". CES Technology Association. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
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