Automotive technology and lidar developer Luminar announced the release of a new full-stack software suite named Sentinel. The software enables automakers to accelerate the development of advanced safety and autonomous functionality on vehicles.
Sentinel development history
Sentinel has been in the making for some time: it was first announced in March 2021, as a result of a close partnership with a 550-person software company owned by Volvo Cars named Zenseact. The 2024 press statement regarding the Sentinel release does not mention Zenseact. The Sentinel version from 2021 is said to be a “prototype […] with a fraction of its current capabilities”. Luminar states that the Sentinel software included in the kits is in continuous development, to be evaluated by automakers and technology companies for potential integration into future advanced safety and autonomous driving programs. As was the case with the prototype of Sentinel, the current version is built to be compatible with almost any consumer and commercial vehicle, including both combustion engine and electric drive train models.
Technology partnerships that enabled the development and testing of Sentinel
Luminar’s Sentinel suite is currently a work-in-progress, as Luminar dubs the solution “currently in-development to enable advanced safety and autonomous functionality with automakers”. Sentinel leverages Luminar’s LiDAR hardware and AI-based software technologies developed inhouse and with 3rd party software partners, including Scale AI, Applied Intuition, and Civil Maps.
Scale partnered earlier with Luminar to improve the performance of LiDAR perception software. This was done by refining Luminar’s foundational AI/ML-based LiDAR perception models for autonomous driving and advanced safety applications. Lidar data company Civil Maps was acquired by Luminar in 2022 to use Civil Maps’ 3D mapping data to build Sentinel. Applied Intuition is a Silicon Valley-based vehicle software supplier, that partnered with Luminar earlier this year to accelerate ADAS and AD development for car makers.
Sentinel product features and results of risk-based testing of Luminar hardware and software
Sentinel currently contains the following features:
- Proactive Safety
- Perception
- 3D Mapping and Localization
- Simulation
- Dynamic LiDAR
A development version of Sentinel has been tested by reinsurance company Swiss Re. Their research report demonstrated that cars equipped with Luminar Lidar and a development version of Sentinel software showed dramatic safety enhancements and a reduction by as much as 40% in accident severity.
While improving safety is Luminar’s goal, there are insurance savings to be realized with the safety and damage-reduction benefits of its technology. This explains why in a press release accompanying Luminar’s investor event earlier this year, the company announced plans to leverage the Swiss Re safety study as an industry benchmark to launch a digital insurance product which is expected to reduce the cost of insurance for car buyers of Luminar-equipped vehicles.
What is a full-stack software suite?
Sentinel is a full-stack software suite. Although the meaning of the term is not explained by Luminar, it refers to a set of software subsystems or components needed to create a complete platform such that no additional software is required to support applications. This means that Sentinel provides a basis on which other applications run on top of it. The press release that accompanies the release of Sentinel states that it is targeted to be “assessed by and integrated into automaker software development efforts”, which is in line with the definition of the term above.
The first shipments of Sentinel occurred in early July, but it is unknown to whom. More shipments are planned to top automakers in the third quarter of 2024. The Luminar website now has a Sentinel product page with more info on new developments.
