Pony.ai launches autonomous driving platform with Luminar

11 May 2021 | David Young

Autonomous driving company is set to introduce its next-generation platform with Luminar, starting in five global cities

Pony.ai launches autonomous driving platform with Luminar

Pony.ai, introduced its newly designed sensing platform in collaboration with Luminar Technologies and announced it has driven more than five million kilometers across an operational coverage area of over 850 km² and has provided more than 220,000 Robotaxi rides.

Pony.ai is set to deploy automotive-grade production autonomous fleets in 2023 globally. The next-generation fleet will seamlessly integrate Luminar's Iris and feature a multi-sensor 360-degree configuration and a slimmest profile roofline at just 10cm off of the vehicle roof.

The partnership followed Pony.ai's expansion of its Robotaxi service across five cities in China and the US, including Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Irvine and Fremont. Pony.ai began testing China's first Robotaxi service, PonyPilot, in late 2018 in Guangzhou, and in 2019 became the first company to roll out a public-facing Robotaxi service in California.

"Pony.ai's vision to create a dynamic, vehicle-agnostic autonomous driving system is very impressive, and it has already demonstrated a clear leadership position for Robotaxi development in China and beyond," said Austin Russell, founder and ceo of Luminar. "We're leveraging the full extent of the technology and product development work we've accomplished over the years, and directly re-applying it to Pony.ai's platform and fleet. This partnership marks a significant milestone towards the realization of safe autonomous Robotaxi services in the years to come."

More: Luminar