Imagine being 16 and studying at the Beckman Laser Institute at the University of California, Irvine. Now imagine starting a business that has the potential to change how the transportation industry works forever. Both these events happened to Austin Russell in the same year. Austin Russell, now 22, is the founder and CEO of Luminar Technologies, a company that blew the doors off the automotive and autonomy industries. Luminar has developed a laser sensor technology that, compared to current-day LiDAR sensors, has 10x the range and 50x the resolution. These improvements are brought on by the increased rate at which the lasers of the Luminar sensor seek and receive data about their environment.
To this point, Luminar has raised more than $36 million and employs over 250 people. Russell says that he wants this product to have a real impact on the world, not just be some app someone downloads onto their phone. Russell says that this impact he is aiming for is to innovate on how people move, and to help eliminate one of the leading causes of death in the world.
I always love to see advancements in technology, especially transportation. I personally don’t like to drive much, so any improvements to the driving experience is a plus for me. Hopefully, this technology becomes very wide-spread and can keep the roads safer for everyone! I’m intrigued to see where this technology leads.
I think any invention that makes the world a little safer is something to be applauded. It would be cool to see how these lasers improve the safety for drivers in the future.
Seeing advancements i technology like this is extremely awesome. It is incredible to be alive and see where are society is heading. I honestly get so excited to see stuff like this happening and can’t wait to see what new technologies are produced.