Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (Nasdaq: VLDR, VLDRW) and MOV.AI today announced the companies are collaborating to provide robot manufacturers with enterprise-grade automation solutions, including mapping, navigation, obstacle avoidance and risk avoidance. The MOV.AI Robotics Engine Platform^TM, combined with Velodyne’s lidar sensors, addresses the growing demand for automation in dynamic collaborative environments such as e-commerce, logistics, manufacturing and hospitals.

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Velodyne Lidar and MOV.AI are collaborating to provide robot manufacturers with enterprise-grade automation solutions, including mapping, navigation, obstacle avoidance and risk avoidance. (Photo: MOV.AI)

The MOV.AI Robotics Engine Platform^TM, powered by Velodyne’s Puck™ lidar sensors, delivers advanced tools that allow autonomous mobile robots (AMR) manufacturers and integrators to address the challenges of safely moving in changing and unstructured environments like material handling and warehouse logistics. These markets are being driven by the dramatic growth of e-commerce. For instance, the pandemic helped propel U.S. online sales to $791 billion in 2020, up 32 percent from the prior year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Robotics Engine Platform helps AMR manufacturers quickly develop and deploy robots that can operate in dynamic environments in which humans, manual machines and robots work side by side. The platform leverages the performance and reliability of the Puck sensor to allow mobile robots to traverse outside controlled situations and safely function in unfamiliar and unpredictable settings. The Puck’s compact form factor enables it to be embedded easily into robots. The sensor delivers high accuracy in complex indoor and outdoor environments.

The MOV.AI ROS-based Robotics Engine Platform^TM provides AMR manufacturers and automation integrators with the enterprise-grade tools they need for advanced automation. It includes a visual Integrated Development Environment (IDE), off the shelf algorithms and integrations, fleet management, flexible interfaces with warehouse environments such as ERP and WMS, and cyber-security compliance. The solution provides ±2 cm accuracy for a 65 percent dynamic environment.

“Adding MOV.AI and Velodyne technologies to TUGBOT.ai provided our robot with an off-the-shelf, high-accuracy navigation and localization solution for the high and dynamic environments where we are deploying our AMRs,” said Fernando Freitas, CEO at RoboSavvy, manufacturer of the AMR TUGBOT.ai. “Using lidar-based SLAM enables TUGBOT.ai to navigate safely among people and other vehicles with accurate and consistent performance.”

“MOV.AI’s mission is to simplify collaborative robot development and to provide AMR manufacturers and integrators with everything they need to develop and operate great robots,” said Motti Kushnir, MOV.AI’s CEO. “Through the collaboration with Velodyne, we are able to offer our customers advanced SLAM navigation powered by the Puck, one of the world’s leading lidar sensors. Use of our Robotics Engine Platform allows AMR manufacturers to quickly implement state-of-the-art navigation, while leaving them the ability to customize it to their needs.”

“We are very excited about the collaboration with MOV.AI and integration of our lidar sensors into the Robotics Engine Platform, including future expansion to our solid state Velarray and Velabit products,” said Erich Smidt, Executive Director of Europe, Velodyne Lidar. “There is a growing demand for automation and integration of our sensors into collaborative robots. We see extensive potential in this space, with the global AMR market size is expected to reach USD 8.70 billion in 2028, with a CAGR of 23.7 percent from 2021 to 2028, according to Fortune Business Insights. Partnering with MOV.AI can enable us to bring safety, efficiency and sustainability into the industrial sector on a large, global scale.”

About Velodyne Lidar

Velodyne Lidar (Nasdaq: VLDR, VLDRW) ushered in a new era of autonomous technology with the invention of real-time surround view lidar sensors. Velodyne, the global leader in lidar, is known for its broad portfolio of breakthrough lidar technologies. Velodyne’s revolutionary sensor and software solutions provide flexibility, quality and performance to meet the needs of a wide range of industries, including autonomous vehicles, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), smart cities and security. Through continuous innovation, Velodyne strives to transform lives and communities by advancing safer mobility for all. For more information, visit www.velodynelidar.com.

About MOV.AI

MOV.AI is changing AMRs as we know them.

It provides AMR manufacturers and integrators with the tools they need to create enterprise-grade robots quickly, allowing users to benefit from automation products that are as flexible as the age we live in.

MOV.AI is a Robotics Engine platform based on ROS and packaged in an intuitive web based interface. It contains everything needed to build, deploy and operate intelligent robots. MOV.AI completely changes the way Autonomous Mobile Robots are developed, in terms of time to market, cost and flexibility.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including, without limitation, all statements other than historical fact and include, without limitation, statements regarding Velodyne’s target markets, new products, development efforts, and competition. When used in this press release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “can,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside Velodyne’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others, that may affect actual results or outcomes include uncertainties regarding government regulation and adoption of lidar, the uncertain impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Velodyne’s and its customers’ businesses; Velodyne’s ability to manage growth; Velodyne’s ability to execute its business plan; uncertainties related to the ability of Velodyne’s customers to commercialize their products and the ultimate market acceptance of these products; the rate and degree of market acceptance of Velodyne’s products; the success of other competing lidar and sensor-related products and services that exist or may become available; uncertainties related to Velodyne’s current litigation and potential litigation involving Velodyne or the validity or enforceability of Velodyne’s intellectual property; and general economic and market conditions impacting demand for Velodyne’s products and services. For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with Velodyne’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Velodyne’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Velodyne as of the date hereof, Velodyne undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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