IAA Voices: Interview ADASKY

Innovative thermal sensor technology to see when others see nothing!

ADASKY is the manufacturer of the intelligent long-wave infrared camera (LWIR) for driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous vehicles and smart city or urban transport applications. Its innovative sensor technology detects pedestrians, cyclists and other non-motorised road users at night and in bad weather where other sensors fail.

Founded in 2016, the start-up emerged as the winner of the Konnect - Volkswagen Group Innovation Hub Tel-Aviv "Start-up Challenge" earlier this year and VW Commercial Vehicles is funding a proof of concept to test ADADSKY's thermal sensor technology for use in fully automated Level 4 vehicles. This is expected to pave the way for the use of these thermal sensors in commercial vehicles and transport; having already secured a contract from a US car manufacturer in 2021 to equip a passenger car model from 2023.

To ensure availability even in the current difficult times, ADASKY develops and manufactures everything in-house, from the optomechanics to robust data collection for the detection and image processing algorithms. Recently, ADASKY set up a high-volume sensor manufacturing facility in Israel and is building another in the US.

Long-wave infrared sensor technology: the future of safe mobility!

While daylight cameras, lidar and radar provide valuable detection capabilities for AEB, ADAS and self-driving applications, they are not without limitation: they leave dangerous perception gaps in commonly used sensor sets. These gaps mainly occur when visibility conditions are at their worst and roads are most dangerous for vehicles, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.

ADASKY's LWIR camera can easily close these gaps due to its precise and reliable thermal detection capability and the accurate image it produces - regardless of all environmental conditions. Furthermore, the sensor identifies people even when they are partially obscured in traffic. Its highly accurate perception of thermal patterns ensures privacy protection because heat cannot be used to identify people by name. Unlike active sensors such as radar or lidar, ADASKY's thermal sensor consumes hardly any energy: ideal for EV applications.

Incidents with autonomous vehicles have triggered a broad discussion in the USA about higher requirements for sensor technology. That is why we see it as the most important project to increase traffic safety in goods and passenger transport with the introduction of long-wave infrared sensor technology, thus paving the way for modern autonomous or semi-autonomous mobility.

Automotive high-tech meets people and players!

The traffic areas for the transport of goods and people will change fundamentally. Above all, new automotive technologies are making it possible for more and more road users to share the same traffic space intelligently.  The IAA Transportation is thematically designed to bring together all road users and, at the same time, all modes of transport relevant to the road and the entire international manufacturing and supply chain. For ADASKY, a high-tech company with innovative sensor technology that provides the technology for vehicles and people to move safely in traffic, the IAA Transportation is the right platform to share the necessity and benefits with all participants.

Sensor high-tech live and in action in a demo vehicle!

At the IAA, we will first demonstrate the perceptive capabilities of the sensors. We will make visible on the screen what the ADAS or the driving computer receives as a "data cloud".  We show the integration possibilities on the vehicle.  A demo vehicle allows all interested parties to experience the sensor's perception capabilities live under real and, of course, adverse visibility conditions. The ADASKY sensor is ready for the market and will enable us to offer our customers safe and high-quality mobility services in all weather conditions. IAA visitors can look forward to this at our stand and on the ride in the demo vehicle.

Creating trust in automated vehicle and traffic technology with ADASKY's thermal sensors!

The transport and logistics industry will move even closer to the people. Urban-Last Mile Delivery. Some traditional boundaries between people and goods transport will no longer exist because connectivity and design flexibility will create interlocking mobility concepts. However, people and machines can only work close together and networked if, for example, autonomous driving or platooning is possible in general and no longer with restrictions or major safety barriers. We want to contribute to this with our sensor technology, which closes the existing perception gaps of previous sensors. We see it as our task to eliminate these perception gaps, also by proposing this sensor technology not only for use in vehicles, but also in the transport infrastructure, because it meets people's need for private data security.