Airbus UpNext unveils its new VERTEX demonstrator equipped with Luminar technology
Today, Luminar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ; LAZR), the global leader in automotive lidar hardware and software technology unveiled its partnership with Airbus UpNext, Airbus SE’s subsidiary created to give future flight technologies a development fast-track by building, evaluating, maturing and validating new products and services that encompass radical technological breakthroughs.
The effort is part of the new Airbus Flightlab ecosystem launched in January 2021 that spans across the entire scope of Airbus’ business lines, and uses flight testing as the principal means of proving out a variety of future technologies. The collaboration with Luminar will see teams of experts from both companies working closely to enhance sensing, perception, and system-level capabilities to ultimately enable safe, autonomous flight.
“As the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer, Airbus has a long history of actively setting a new bar for the future of the aerospace industry, and the Luminar partnership with Airbus UpNext only furthers that trend,” said Austin Russell, CEO and Founder of Luminar Technologies. “We’re able to directly re-apply what we’ve accomplished for the automotive industry into aviation, an established nearly $1 trillion industry. We believe that automation and safety enhancements will transform how we move across all modes of transport as we take our technology from roads to the skies. We look forward to accelerating our shared vision to define the future of flying.”
The primary goal of the platform is to increase aircraft safety and ultimately enable autonomous operation with automatic obstacle detection. Luminar’s technology is based on its high performance lidar sensors, which emit millions of pulses of laser light to accurately detect where objects are by scanning the environment in 3D. It is key in enabling future aviation technologies including autonomous urban air mobility (UAM) transport modes because it serves as a central basis for safe takeoff, landing, and in-flight decision making. It also has the potential to substantially improve the safety of existing aircraft applications.
“Partnering with Luminar, an industry leader in safe autonomous technologies, will help us define and explore the next step towards more autonomous flight vehicles,” said Dr. Sandra Bour Schaeffer, CEO of Airbus UpNext and Head of Airbus Group Demonstrators.
About Luminar
Luminar is an autonomous vehicle sensor and software company with the vision to make autonomy safe and ubiquitous by delivering the only lidar and associated software that meets the industry’s stringent performance, safety, and economic requirements. Luminar has rapidly gained over 50 industry partners, including 8 of the top 10 global automakers. Last year, Luminar signed the industry’s first production deal for autonomous consumer vehicles with Volvo Cars, while also recently striking deals with Daimler Truck AG and Intel’s Mobileye. Luminar has also received minority investments from the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, Daimler Truck AG, and Volvo Cars, a global leader in automotive safety, to accelerate the introduction of autonomous trucks and cars at highway speed. Founded in 2012, Luminar is a nearly 400-person team with offices in Palo Alto, Orlando, Colorado Springs, Detroit, and Munich.
For more information please visit www.luminartech.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would," "plan," "predict," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future," :”forward,” “ahead,” "outlook," and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Luminar’s partnership with Airbus UpNext, statements related to Luminar’s ability to directly re-apply what it has accomplished in the automotive industry in aviation, statements relating to the expected transformation of how Luminar will move across all modes of transport, the goal of increasing aircraft safety and ultimately enabling autonomous operation with automatic obstacle detection and Luminar’s expectations that its platform with Airbus UpNext will enable flying future technologies including UAM transport modes, and Luminar’s potential ability to substantially improve safety of existing aircraft applications. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Luminar's management and are not predictions of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to Luminar’s limited operating history; Luminar’s inability to reduce and control the cost of the inputs on which Luminar relies; Luminar’s ability to transition to an outsourced manufacturing business model; the success of Luminar’s customers in developing and commercializing products using Luminar’s solutions; Luminar’s ability to expand operations in China; Luminar’s ability to protect its intellectual property rights; whether Luminar’s lidar products are selected for inclusion in autonomous driving or ADAS systems by automotive OEMs or their suppliers; changes in personnel and availability of qualified personnel; the amount and timing of future sales; whether the complexity of Luminar’s products results in undetected defects and reliability issues which could reduce market adoption of its new products, damage its reputation and expose Luminar to product liability and other claims; strict government regulation that is subject to amendment, repeal or new interpretation and Luminar’s ability to comply with modified or new laws and regulations applying to its business; general economic uncertainty and the effect of general economic conditions on Luminar’s industry in particular, including the level of demand and financial performance of the autonomous vehicle industry and market adoption of lidar; the effects of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic or other infectious diseases, health epidemics, pandemics and natural disasters on Luminar’s business; and the other risks discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by Luminar on April 14, 2021 and other documents Luminar files with the SEC in the future. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made and Luminar undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.
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Contacts
Luminar contact:
Nicole Phelan
nicole@luminartech.com
