Ouster, a provider of high-resolution digital lidar sensors, has signed a strategic customer agreement with Vecna Robotics, a material handling automation company and autonomous mobile robot maker.
The agreement includes a non-binding forecast for approximately 3,000 OS digital lidar sensors through 2025 as Vecna Robotics scales production to meet increasing customer demand for warehouse and logistics automation.
Vecna Robotics plans to fuse Ouster lidar into its multi-sensor autonomy stack to equip self-driving pallet trucks, tow tractors, and lift trucks for high-capacity material handling operations.
The lidar helps the system confidently navigate dynamic environments, safely detect and avoid obstacles while working alongside human operations and manually driven vehicles, and intelligently map its path through real-time topological reasoning.
Zachary Dydek, CTO at Vecna Robotics, says: “We completed an exhaustive evaluation of all 3D lidar sensors on the market and found the Ouster OS0 to be our strong favorite.
“We believe Ouster’s best-in-class customer service and proven scalability will enable Vecna Robotics to meet customer demand for high-volume production and further extend our technology leadership in the industrial AMR space.”
Vecna Robotics works with some of the world’s leading distribution, warehousing, and manufacturing companies to alleviate global supply chain challenges through automated solutions that increase throughput and efficiency in material handling.
Manufacturing and logistics companies rely on over four million human operators to move nearly two billion pallets in the US each day and approximately five billion pallets worldwide.
Currently, less than one percent of material handling vehicles are automated, representing a significant opportunity to capture demand for warehouse automation within the $2.5 billion total addressable market (TAM) estimated for the industrial lidar market by 2025.
Angus Pacala, Ouster CEO, says: “Warehouse and logistics automation is critical to improving supply chain operations.
“Businesses are facing unprecedented shipping delays, labor shortages, and price inflation – and the demand to safely automate key aspects of the value chain is only accelerating.
“We are excited to partner with Vecna Robotics as they scale to serve the market opportunity for intelligent material handling equipment.”
