You Can't Build an Autonomous Car without Sensors

23.06.2017 - First Sensor AG welcomes law and ethical guidelines on autonomous driving/market potential of $26 billion by 2026.

First Sensor AG, a developer and manufacturer of standard products customer-specific solutions on the growth market of sensor technology, welcomes the law on automated driving that came into force this Wednesday. "The new law is a first step toward paving the way for a new kind of mobility. Although the scope is still limited, motorists many now take their hands of the wheel for the first time," says Dr. Dirk Rothweiler, CEO of First Sensor AG. This legal certainty is an important basis for industry to continue investing in new technologies for this future market.

For example, the consulting firm Bain & Company has calculated that the global market for automated vehicles and driver assistance systems will reach a volume of between $22 billion and $26 billion by 2025 with annual growth rates of 12% to 14%. In 2035, there could be 54 million self-driving cars on the world's roads. German Minister of Transport Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) expects the first vehicles on Germany's roads in just five years.

"Many ethical questions still have to be answered to ensure that this dream of autonomous driving does not turn into a nightmare," emphasizes Dr. Mathias Gollwitzer, CFO of First Sensor AG. "So we are all the more delighted that, in addition to the law, the Federal Ministry of Transport's Ethics Commission also presented their guidelines for automated and networked traffic this week. These define important points such as the priority of traffic safety."

First Sensor develops and produces different sensor solutions that ensure more safety and convenience on the road. The company supplies technology leaders such as the American LiDAR manufacturer Velodyne, among others, with photodiodes. Next week, it will present its sensor solutions for networked, autonomous mobility at the international LASER World of Photonics trade fair in Munich and at the Sensors Expo & Conference in San José, California.

"In the future, autonomous vehicles will use this light detection and ranging technology in conjunction with camera and radar systems to respond to other road users," explains CEO Rothweiler. "We are currently seeing growing demand for these highly sensitive sensors, and this growth clearly shows that you can't build an autonomous car without sensors."

About First Sensor AG
In the growth market of sensor systems, First Sensor develops and produces standard products and customer-specific solutions for the ever-increasing number of applications in the industrial, medical, and mobility target markets. Based on innovative technology platforms, we develop products such as chips, components, sensors, and entire sensor systems. Trends such as Industry 4.0, autonomous driving, and the miniaturization of medical technology will drive our growth extremely rapidly in the future. First Sensor was founded in Berlin 25 years ago and has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (SIS) since 1999 [Prime Standard Ι WKN: 720190 Ι ISIN: DE0007201907 Ι SIS]. For more details on First Sensor, please visit www.first-sensor.com.

Disclaimer
Statements in this Corporate News relating to future developments are based on a prudent estimate of future events. Actual events may deviate from planned events, as they depend on a large number of market and economic factors, some of which are outside of the company's control.