Baidu and BMW invest in sensor company Lunewave to achieve 3D printed sensor lenses

According to foreign media reports, an autonomous driving startup Lunewave recently completed its seed round of financing and raised US$5 million.

The company’s seed round was led by Texas-based McCombs Capital (FMC), with participation from Baidu Ventures, BMW i Ventures, Lighthouse Ventures and Shanda Capital.

Lunewave, headquartered in Arizona, focuses on the development of external sensors to improve the accuracy of autonomous driving operations by enhancing detection capabilities. The company's products are special sensor lenses developed using 3D printing technology for driverless cars, 5G communication modules and drones.

Lunewave was founded by brothers John and Hao Xin and is based on research Hao Xin did while a professor at the University of Arizona. After earning his Ph.D. from MIT in 2000, Hao Xin worked for Raytheon and Rockwell Scientific for many years.

Lunewave's sensors are suitable for a wide range of industries, but the company is focusing first on autonomous vehicles and wireless communications, where it believes its products can address the limitations of current sensors on the market for driverless cars.

Lunwave plans to use the funds to expand operations, initiate hiring initiatives and continue research and development. FMC Managing Partner Mark Norman will join the company as a member of the board of directors.

Lunewave said that because its lens is based on the Luneburg antenna from the 1940s, it has a wider field of view than traditional lidar sensors. Its sensor's circular lens has a 360-degree field of view and can detect objects around the car at high resolution even at long distances and in bad weather conditions. In addition, it can also replace multiple external sensors on autonomous vehicles.

Lunewave plans to use 3D printing technology to simplify sensor manufacturing and production. The company calculates that one 3D printer can print 100 sensor lenses (for the lab version) and an industrial 3D printer can produce 1,000 sensor lenses.

The $5 million angel round of financing will help the startup Lunewave accelerate the market launch of a new millimeter-wave radar based on the Luneburg antenna concept. Lunewave can currently provide customized LuneBurg lens antennas. The hardware structure of the Lunenberg antenna has the best detection distance, and the spherical characteristics of the device have 360-degree detection capabilities.

The lens detects the surrounding environment by conducting electromagnetic waves, such as visible light, microwaves, and infrared. This design allows the antenna to be customized to a specific operating frequency and bandwidth. The lens is made using polymer jet 3D printing technology to incorporate electromagnetic crystals into the structure. This method also makes the production cost of the lens relatively low compared to other technologies.

The company launched its minimum viable product in 2017 and was one of the early companies in the UrbanX accelerator and part of the BMW Startup Garage program.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.