The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing €15 million in financing to Blickfeld GmbH, a manufacturer of hardware and software for smart LiDAR solutions.
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The funding is provided under the EIB’s venture debt programme, which is tailored to the specific financing needs of high-growth innovative companies. The sums are secured by a guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), also known as the “Juncker Plan.”
LiDAR stands for light detection and ranging and is a method for capturing the environment. Light is used in the form of a pulsed laser to recognise, categorise and count objects.
LiDAR sensors generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape and surface properties of surrounding objects. In the future, LiDAR will increasingly be used in autonomous driving and many industrial applications.
The technology is already used in the data protection-compliant collection of vehicle and people flow in the retail space and public places. It is also used to optimise traffic flows in urban planning (smart cities) and to reduce false alarms in building and security systems.
The detailed three-dimensional capture of the environment can also help to measure materials such as sugar beets, fertiliser or recycled materials that were previously complex and cost-intensive to quantify.
Blickfeld will use the additional capital to accelerate the development of its LiDAR solutions in autonomous driving and a variety of industrial applications, and to expand its position in key international markets. Today, the number of employees is 130 and is growing rapidly.
The company is currently opening regional offices in international markets such as the US and China. The technology is optimised for use in many new applications.
A low pressure wave forming along a cold front will track across the New England coast this morning, bringing a period of rain, heavy at times for much of New England, especially for Maine today.