SOS Lab's LiDAR sensor is being applied to the "smart tolling system," known as the "next-generation Hi-Pass."
SOS Lab announced on the 7th that it is conducting a demonstration by applying its newly developed 3D fixed LiDAR product, "ML-X," to the domestic smart tolling system project being built by Estrafic.
The smart tolling system is a system that collects tolls and allows passage without stopping while maintaining the vehicle's driving speed. It provides positive effects in various aspects such as improving traffic flow and reducing exhaust emissions, and is already widely used in advanced countries such as the United Kingdom, Norway, and the United States.
The smart tolling system's major advantage is that it can collect tolls from vehicles without Hi-Pass devices using "license plate recognition" technology utilizing cameras and LiDAR. Vehicles equipped with Hi-Pass devices can pay tolls using existing device communication. For vehicles that previously paid tolls via cash or transportation cards at manned toll booths, the system will now need to detect and recognize license plates, making detection accuracy more important than ever.
Domestically, Estrafic, a KOSDAQ-listed traffic solution specialist company, has succeeded in developing and commercializing the related system, and since its first supply to the Cheonan-Nonsan Expressway in 2016, the adoption has been expanding. Estrafic has been collaborating with SOS Lab since last year to improve detection and recognition accuracy.
SOS Lab's LiDAR sensor is characterized by providing superior detection performance compared to foreign products due to various technological differentiators. SOS Lab solved the detection performance degradation caused by fog with "multi-echo" technology and supports 56 channels, unlike foreign products that use only a single channel.
Currently, SOS Lab aims to continuously expand collaboration with Estrafic. Separately from this project, SOS Lab proposed replacing the foreign LiDAR used in the existing highway smart tolling system with the "ML-X" to Estrafic, and if the order is successful, the influence of SOS Lab's products in the smart city sector is expected to grow further.
A company official said, "Based on its unique technology in the domestic LiDAR market, SOS Lab is expanding product adoption not only in autonomous driving but also in various areas such as smart cities," adding, "We will successfully complete this project and fully localize the domestic smart tolling system, and actively pursue domestic and international market penetration through this."
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