Scottsdale-based tech startup Sensagrate has joined forces with Israel-based Innoviz Technologies (Nasdaq: INVZ) to launch a smart intersection corridor pilot on the UCLA campus in a project that is intended to be extended across Arizona.
Sensagrate, which was founded in 2018, builds smart-city artificial intelligence technology that is designed to enable real-time traffic, pedestrian and cyclist safety on roadways. For the UCLA project, the Valley company is using Innoviz solid-state Lidar sensors — which work in all kinds of weather conditions — and perception software.
The system will gather data on traffic volume and safety metrics and will analyze incidents involving pedestrians to find out why incidents happen and what can be done about those causes. The platform in place at UCLA will also be connected to the university’s autonomous vehicles.
The two companies have been working in partnership since last year with the goal of developing smart city applications through the integration of the InnovizOne Lidar sensor and Sensagrate’s computer vision software.
When the partnership was first announced, Sensagrate founder and President Darryl Keeton praised the quality of the Innoviz product, in particular its ability to track vehicles, pedestrians and obstacles over a wide area with high resolution. He also said the Lidar’s size and design was a good fit for integrating sensors into traffic signals.
For the current project, Keeton said the partnership is working well.
"The Innoviz One Lidar provides a unique and high quality resolution for their field of view and range. This is critical as we look to detect different objects in various settings and at ranges greater than 100 meters," Keeton said in a statement. "Innoviz has provided a great product and is proving its strong partnership abilities to promote safety. We are excited to witness how the InnovizOne and SensaVision integration at the UCLA pilot site can promote smarter and safer streets."
Building on the UCLA project, the two companies plan to deploy their technologies across Arizona in partnership with government transportation agencies. Sensagrate says it plans to work in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson.
Omer Keilaf, co-founder and CEO of Innoviz, said he was eager to advance the partnership with Sensagrate and to demonstrate the technology at one of the world’s premier universities.
"Innoviz and Sensagrate both firmly believe that Lidar-based intelligent traffic decisions will improve traffic flow and reduce traffic congestion, leading to a decrease in road fatalities and carbon emissions,” Keilaf said in a statement. “We're looking forward to scaling this solution across the US and globally."
