Plus signed a strategic customer agreement with Ouster which will provide its digital LiDAR sensors to outfit key elements of Plus’s automated truck system.
Plus is the first automated trucking developer to start mass production of its automated driving system, beginning this year. The company is partnered with the largest shippers, carriers, and truck makers, including the world’s largest heavy truck manufacturer, FAW, to deploy automated trucks powered by its automated driving system.
“LiDAR is a critical sensing modality to include in our sensor suite in order to develop the safest automated trucks,” said Shawn Kerrigan, COO and co-founder of Plus. “As we start to deploy our automated driving system commercially this year, we need a LiDAR partner with cutting-edge technology that is high performing, reliable, and of production quality that is immediately available at scale. Ouster delivers on all of those requirements.”
Per the agreement, Ouster will supply a minimum of 2,000 digital LiDAR sensors to Plus in an initial roll-out, and is prepared to aggressively increase its supply over the next five years, having already migrated the majority of its production volume to contract manufacturer Benchmark Electronics in Thailand. Additionally, Ouster will provide engineering support to enable Plus’s automated driving system deployment across multiple continents.
“Plus is rapidly accelerating innovation in automated trucks and we are very excited to be able to meet their rigorous technology, reliability, and immediate volume production requirements to win this contract,” said Angus Pacala, Co-Founder and CEO of Ouster. “We are focused on four industries where we believe digital lidar will be a technology lynchpin, and we see a huge opportunity in automated trucks that is driving significant demand for our sensors today and is growing exponentially in the near future.”
In December, Ouster entered into a definitive merger agreement with Colonnade Acquisition in a transaction that would result in Ouster being listed on the NYSE. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2021, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
