Cepton Introduces the World’s Smallest Wide Field of View Lidar Sensor for Near-Range Applications
12.1.2021 14:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Cepton Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of state-of-the-art, intelligent, lidar-based solutions, has announced its path-breaking miniature lidar sensor – the Nova - priced at less than $100 for high volume automotive applications.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210112005035/en/
With a lidar target size of 3.5 cm (W) x 3.5 cm (H) x 7.5 cm (D), and weighing less than 350 g, the Nova is extremely compact and easily embeddable for automotive applications. © 2021 Cepton Technologies.
The Nova is a wide angle near-range lidar sensor intended to address major gaps in proximity detection of objects with current sensor technologies. Featuring best-in-class, high resolution 3D imaging with a high field of view (FOV) of 90-120° (H) and 60-90° (V), depending on configuration, Nova sets a worldwide benchmark with its unprecedented combination of compactness, FOV coverage and affordability.
Powered by Cepton’s patented and proven Micro Motion Technology (MMT®), the non-rotational, mirrorless, and frictionless Nova lidar can be hidden all around a vehicle to provide a complete 360° view of its immediate surroundings. With a lidar target size of 3.5 cm (W) x 3.5 cm (H) x 7.5 cm (D), and weighing less than 350 g, the ultra-small Nova is an easily embeddable lidar sensor that not only enables optimal styling choices but demonstrates the scalability of MMT® to the smallest form factors.
Nova has an angular resolution of up to 0.3°, with a maximum range of up to 30 m and is therefore ideal for automotive Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle (AV) applications such as blind spot detection, small object detection, automated park assist and free space estimation around the vehicle. For vehicles, a multi-lidar architecture can be facilitated, thereby creating a virtual safety zone all around while minimizing disruption to vehicle design aesthetics.
Nova is ideally suited for accurate detection of objects in proximity, such as small children, on-road objects, road edges, stationary objects and more. With this level of capability and its ultra-compact design, Nova can not only support ADAS and AV applications but also autonomous ground vehicle (AGV) and smart industrial applications.
With lidar’s increasing presence in cars and trucks, Cepton has been innovating its technology to meet the stringent requirements from OEMs and Tier 1s while striving to advance lidar designs that enable easy integration in the next generation of automobiles. Nova is the latest representation of Cepton’s state-of-the-art lidar innovation, that encompasses the goal of automotive-grade reliability, low power (<3.5 W) and high performance, along with an elegant, minimalistic design that requires only small amounts of real estate in the vehicle body.
Nova’s modular design and easily accessible components make it highly manufacturable, with very low cost at high volume. Previously, Cepton was one of the first in the industry to announce a <$1,000 volume lidar price for high performance, long range lidar (Vista-X90). Consistent with that trend, Nova is the first high field of view, near-range lidar with a <$100 price point for high automotive volumes. This fulfils Cepton’s objective to bring to market scalable, mass-market lidar solutions that enable the automotive industry to substantially accelerate safety and autonomy innovations in the next generation of vehicles.
“The Nova is an industry-first, transformational lidar that fundamentally changes the game for near-field sensing,” said Cepton CEO Dr. Jun Pei. “Currently, consumer vehicles have been limited to technologies that cannot facilitate true Level 3 or Level 4 autonomy for the mass market. Radars, cameras and ultrasonic sensors suffer from high false positives and false negatives. Rotational lidars are not embeddable, making them impractical for consumer vehicles. Near-range flash lidars either lack the wide field of view or cannot match the power and size requirements to be discretely hidden all around the vehicle. The Nova represents path-breaking lidar innovation for the automotive industry in that it achieves a level of performance that is unmatched for such a small form factor.”
Nova is targeted for high volume production starting in 2023. Due to anticipated high demand for samples, Nova will only be available to select customers in 2021 through Cepton’s Early Access Program. If you would like to be part of this program or would like more details, please contact Mitch Hourtienne, Cepton Senior Director of Business Development at mitch.hourtienne@cepton.com.
To learn more about the Nova and Cepton’s automotive grade lidar capabilities, join Cepton at the upcoming digital CES 2021, from January 11th to 14th, via our virtual booth page (CES registration required). On Jan 12th, Cepton CMO, Dr. T. R. Ramachandran will join North American Lighting (NAL) for a virtual panel discussion on “Impact of Sensors on Mobility” at 11 a.m. (PST) and present at an online NAL-hosted webinar “Lidar, What’s the Future?” at 2 p.m. (PST). Watch the online sessions for free to learn more about how lidar is transforming the world and how Cepton’s smart lidar solutions are ideally suited for automotive and smart infrastructure applications.
About Cepton Technologies, Inc.
Cepton provides state-of-the-art, intelligent, lidar-based solutions for a range of markets such as automotive (ADAS/AV), smart cities, smart spaces and smart industrial applications. Cepton’s patented MMT®-based lidar technology enables reliable, scalable and cost-effective solutions that deliver long range, high resolution 3D perception for smart applications.
Founded in 2016 and led by industry veterans with over two decades of collective experience across a wide range of advanced lidar and imaging technologies, Cepton is focused on the mass market commercialization of high performance, high quality lidar solutions. Cepton is headquartered in San Jose, California, USA, with a presence in Germany, Canada, Japan and India, to serve a fast-growing global customer base. For more information, visit www.cepton.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210112005035/en/
Contact information
Faithy Li, Cepton Technologies, media@cepton.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Ouster Releases The REV8 OS Family: The World’s First Native Color Lidar4.5.2026 13:00:00 EEST | Press release
Ouster, Inc. (Nasdaq: OUST) (“Ouster” or the “Company”), a leader in sensing and perception for Physical AI, announced today its new family of OS digital lidar sensors, Rev8, powered by its next-generation L4 Ouster Silicon. Ouster Rev8 features the world’s first patented native color lidar sensors, provides up to double the range and resolution of the previous generation, and is designed for functional safety, reliability, affordability, and scale. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260504718668/en/ The REV8 OS Family: The World's First Native Color Lidar. L4 Ouster Silicon: Ouster’s breakthrough L4 architecture doubles the range and resolution of its lidar over the prior generation, adds native-color sensing, and is designed for functional safety. Based on patented Ouster Silicon with embedded Fujifilm color science, the L4 chip results in exquisite color data and hardware-enabled HDR. It boasts 42.9 GMACs of p
NIQ Research Reveals New Rules of Commerce: AI Is Beginning to Decide What Consumers Buy4.5.2026 13:00:00 EEST | Press release
NielsenIQ (NYSE: NIQ) has announced the release of its new global report, The Commerce Revolution: Where East Meets West, which examines how Eastern-led commerce innovation and Western retail media monetization are colliding to reshape global consumer commerce. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260428841965/en/ The report finds live, social, and quick commerce—long scaled across Asia—now drive most incremental digital growth worldwide, while Western markets accelerate adoption as these formats localize. At the same time, retail media networks (RMNs) have become one of the fastest‑growing advertising channels globally, with US retail media ad spend projected to reach $107.6 billion (USD) in 2026. Beyond this, the report finds that previously siloed operational functions of sellers are beginning to blur boundaries. Payment platforms and rapid fulfillment models from the East are converging with the monetization mo
OPAQUE Acquires Abu Dhabi-Developed Cryptographic AI Technology from TII, Extending Confidential AI Across the Full Lifecycle with Post-Quantum Protection4.5.2026 11:23:00 EEST | Press release
OPAQUE, the Confidential AI company headquartered in San Francisco, California, today announced it has acquired advanced cryptographic AI technologies from the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), the applied research pillar of Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC). The acquired technology — already proven in real-world use cases — adds two critical capabilities to OPAQUE's platform: confidential AI model training powered by advanced cryptographic techniques such as multi-party computation and fully homomorphic encryption, as well as post-quantum cryptographic protections. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260504705475/en/ OPAQUE Acquires Abu Dhabi-Developed Cryptographic AI Technology from TII, Extending Confidential AI Across the Full Lifecycle with Post-Quantum Protection (Photo: AETOSWire) Founded by researchers from UC Berkeley's RISELab, and now with this acquisition, OPAQUE supports Co
Forbes Includes Philip Morris International in Its Net Zero Leaders List4.5.2026 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
Philip Morris International (PMI) (NYSE: PM) has been included once more in Forbes’ 2026 Net Zero Leaders1 list, recognizing its leadership and continued progress in advancing climate action across its global operations. The Forbes Net Zero Leaders list highlights U.S. publicly listed companies best positioned to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, based on measurable performance rather than commitments alone. Despite most companies aligning to a 2050 net zero horizon, PMI remains committed to reaching net zero by 2040, as set out in its Climate Transition Plan published in 2025. This aspiration reflects PMI’s confidence in collective progress, trust that ambition drives innovation, that policy will evolve to enable change, and collaboration will accelerate system‑wide transformation. Above all, it signals hope: that by acting early and holding firm, PMI can help build the critical momentum needed to shift markets, technologies, and mindsets, and inspire similar action across its value
Mobius Renewables Acquires Air Liquide’s Biogas Production Activities in the United States, France, Norway, and Sweden4.5.2026 09:45:00 EEST | Press release
Mobius Renewables today announced the closing of the acquisition of Air Liquide’s biogas production activities in the United States, France, Norway, and Sweden. The acquisition includes six operating landfill gas-to-RNG (Renewable Natural Gas) sites in the U.S., five operating farm waste sites in France, and a 51% interest in Redo Biosolutions with production and distribution assets across Norway and Sweden. The acquired portfolio will be a meaningful addition to Mobius Renewables (“the Company”), a global, vertically integrated low carbon fuels platform established in December 2025 by funds managed by IFM Investors to accelerate the development, production, distribution, and commercialization of RNG at scale across North America and Europe. The Company is headquartered in Houston, Texas with additional offices in the United States, France, Norway, and Sweden. With this transaction, the establishment of Mobius Renewables is complete, and GreenGasUSA and the acquired portfolio will oper
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom