Volvo is integrating Luminar Applied sciences’ lidar system on the automaker’s upcoming electrical flagship SUV, the primary main carmaker to combine the expertise as customary tools on a automobile.

Luminar’s new Iris lidar system, which is a complicated sensor that permits automobiles to “see” their atmosphere higher, will probably be customary on the SUV, the Swedish automaker and start-up Luminar introduced Thursday. The automobile, a successor to Volvo’s present XC90, is anticipated to be unveiled subsequent 12 months.

Shares of Luminar, which went public through a SPAC deal in December, jumped by greater than 12% forward of the markets opening Thursday.

“Volvo Automobiles is and all the time has been a frontrunner in security. It’s going to now outline the subsequent stage of automobile security,” Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson mentioned in a launch. “By having this {hardware} as customary, we are able to constantly enhance security options over the air and introduce superior autonomous drive techniques, reinforcing our management in security.”

Lidars, or mild detection and ranging techniques, can sense environment and assist vehicles keep away from obstacles. They use mild to create high-resolution pictures that present a extra correct view of the world than cameras or radar alone.

Lidar has been talked about rather a lot for self-driving automobiles like supply vans and vehicles however not as a lot for customers as a result of value. Luminar says its system, which can initially be used to reinforce the automobile’s security, will solely value corporations about $1,000 per automobile.

Relying on when the automobile is launched, it might be the primary with lidar as customary tools. It is a main win for Luminar.

“That is the primary time it is being standardized, nevertheless it definitely will not be the final,” Luminar founder and CEO Austin Russell instructed CNBC throughout an illustration of the expertise in Detroit.

Russell mentioned Luminar’s expertise is being built-in into Volvo’s next-generation EV platform, which might imply Volvo will provide it customary or non-obligatory on all of its upcoming EVs. A spokesperson for Volvo didn’t instantly reply for remark.

Volvo has mentioned it plans to be a totally electrical automobile firm by 2030, which might considerably assist Luminar in scaling up its lidar expertise. The automobiles are anticipated to finally provide superior hands-free freeway driving with some self-driving capabilities as effectively, the businesses have mentioned.

“That is one thing that can actually assist set the stage in ushering in the entire subsequent wave of security,” Russell mentioned. “I feel it is going to kick off an enormous pattern of development throughout the board from that security perspective.”

Russell mentioned 2023 would be the “first main ramp up” of the corporate’s lidar expertise for the automotive trade.

“Within the second half of this decade, we’ll simply have thousands and thousands of automobiles out on the highway with all of this,” he mentioned.