Trimble and VayaVision announced an alliance that will integrate VayaVision's raw data sensor fusion and perception software platform with Trimble's existing machine control technology to enable intelligent automation in complex work environments. The companies expect to provide a hardware and software portfolio that improves autonomous machine performance in the construction, agriculture and mining industries.
VayaVision, a LeddarTech company, offers a leading environmental perception solution that encompasses raw data fusion with up-sampling, AI and computer vision, and has inherent redundancy that is required for functional safety. Trimble Autonomy is currently developing solutions and services that enable the next generation of autonomous functionality to improve productivity and safety.
The alliance between the two companies is focused on advancing data fusion for multi-sensor systems such as LiDAR, cameras and GNSS. These sensors are used to produce reliable environmental mapping, which is critical for autonomous solutions. The result is expected to enable improvements in the performance of autonomous machines operating in challenging work environments or when supporting safety-critical applications.
Both companies will collaborate to advance autonomous development and adoption with a customizable portfolio that can potentially benefit construction, agriculture and mining professionals in several ways by:
- Improving operational efficiency, decreasing labor costs and reducing project timelines
- Helping customers scale their automation efforts—from driver assistance features to fully autonomous solutions
- Offering a flexible, customer-centric approach to product engineering and implementation
- Reducing customer development costs and accelerating time to market with machine automation
- Augmenting or replacing human control to create a safer work environment through path optimization, obstacle avoidance and situational awareness
- Improving sustainability by optimizing vehicle functionality and utilization with automation to reduce idle time, fuel consumption and environmental impact
"Our business model is to collaborate with strategic partners to integrate our core technologies into their platform products which, in turn, can be used across multiple end applications. The alliance positions Trimble to deliver a highly capable path planning and autonomous system for the agriculture, construction and mining industries," said Youval Nehmadi, director of Perception Engineering of LeddarTech, Israel. "Our LeddarVision perception software delivers advanced, flexible and robust 3D environmental solution for off-road and passenger car applications today."
"Trimble has been connecting the physical and digital worlds with our best-in-class automation technologies for more than 20 years — whether it is in agriculture, construction or mining," said Finlay Wood, business area director for Trimble's Autonomous Solutions Division. "We see the demand for operator assistance, autonomous machines and workflow optimization accelerating dramatically and alliances such as this are a critical part of how we will bring added value to our customers in all levels of autonomy."
The BIRD Foundation, a bi-national research and industrial development fund that promotes cooperation between U.S. and Israeli companies, is supporting the alliance.
