In June I met Dr. Florian Petit, co-founder of Blickfeld, in their Munich office. Here is our interview with one of the most promising global LIDAR innovators.

LIDAR is an abbreviation for’Light Detection and Ranging’. This Munich Mobility Startup pursues a novel approach to build these LiDAR systems for the environmental perception of autonomous systems such as autonomous vehicles. Autonomous systems, such as self-propelled cars, robots and drones, must “see” and “understand” the world around them in order to navigate and work safely.

Blickfeld develops LiDAR systems that create high-resolution, three-dimensional geometric maps. By using commercially available standard and silicone components, Blickfeld has developed a technology that can be manufactured in low-cost mass production and meets the technical performance requirements of automobile manufacturers. The construction of 100,000’den LIDARS is the goal.

How does it work?
The recording of distances is the natural way to perceive the environment. Blickfeld developed a technology that maps 3D points in an image. Therefore, LIDAR’s field of view takes a distance image with the coded geometry.

The startup consists of a versatile team of 35 employees from seven nations based in Munich. In an initial investment round, Blickfeld collected EUR 3.6 million. “We see our VC partners as partners who support us both strategically and in the development of our product. As four founders, we currently have four VC investors, including Fluxunit – OSRAM Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Tengelmann Ventures and entrepreneurship Venture Capital Partners,” says Florian, one of the co-founders in our interview.