RoboSense Technology Co., Ltd (RoboSense; ) is a

publicly listed A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...

Chinese technology company that engages in the development and sales of

lidar Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

products such as sensors. Its products are used mainly in the ADAS,

vehicular automation Vehicular automation involves the use of mechatronics, artificial intelligence, and multi-agent systems to assist the operator of a vehicle (car, aircraft, watercraft, or otherwise).Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Lanzon, A.,Group Coordinated Control ...

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist human ...

and industrial sectors.

History

After finishing his PhD on outdoor robotics perception at

Harbin Institute of Technology Harbin Institute of Technology (; abbreviation: HIT or ) is a public research university and a member of China's elite C9 League and a member of the University Alliance of the Silk Road. HIT is a Chinese Ministry of Education Class A Doub ...

, Qiu Chunxin founded RoboSense in 2014. Qiu asked his PhD supervisor Zhu Xiaorui and PhD peer Liu Letian to join his team as chief scientist and chief technology officer respectively. Investors of RoboSense have included over 30

institutional investors An institutional investor is an entity which pools money to purchase securities, real property, and other investment assets or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial banks, central banks, credit unions, government-linked co ...

such as

Cainiao Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Limited (), formerly known as China Smart Logistics Network, is a Chinese logistics company launched by Alibaba Group, jointly with eight other companies, on 28 May 2013. As of May 2018, Cainiao was one of the la ...

, BYD and

Xiaomi Corporation (; ), commonly known as Xiaomi and registered as Xiaomi Inc., is a Chinese designer and manufacturer of consumer electronics and related software, home appliances, and household items. Behind Samsung, it is the second largest m ...

. RoboSense started out making scanners for the construction and interior design industries, releasing its first static 3D laser scanner in 2015. With the rise of

Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and electric truck, trucks), battery energy storage from ...

and autonomous driving, RoboSense soon switched its focus to vehicle sensors. In 2016, RoboSense launched its automotive-grade lidars and became one of the first mass producers of

solid-state Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their ...

lidars where the sensors are fixed rather than rotating. RoboSense has also made progress in the

MEMS Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), also written as micro-electro-mechanical systems (or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) and the related micromechatronics and microsystems constitute the technology of microscopic devices, ...

lidar field for driver assistance functions. RoboSense also expanded into developing lidar hardware for other industries including robotics and AI-based detection software. On 5 January 2024, RoboSense held its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

(IPO) becoming a listed company on the

Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is rep ...

. The offering raised HK$990 million and with a valuation of HK$19.3 billion, RoboSense was the world's highest valued lidar company at the time. On its trading debut, its shares dropped 2.09% in the morning. Investors questioned whether costly lidar sensor technology would be widely adopted by makers of

self-driving car A self-driving car, also known as an autonomous car, driver-less car, or robotic car (robo-car), is a car that is capable of traveling without human input.Xie, S.; Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Ding, Z.; Arvin, F.,Distributed Motion Planning for S ...

s. In early 2024, it was reported that RoboSense was the world's biggest supplier of automotive lidars. RoboSense was present at CES 2025 to demonstrate its products to the US market. Qiu who was at the event stated that product quality was more important than geopolitical tensions. RoboSense has been compared to Hesai Technology and is considered its main rival in China.

References

{{authority control 2014 establishments in China 2024 initial public offerings Companies based in Shenzhen Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Lidar

History

See also

References