There is an open war for the monopoly of the smart mobility market in China. As pointed out by the website Xakata, the motoring company of the well-known Elon Musk, Tesla, would be seeing its design of autonomous technology threatened by the design of robot vacuum in the Chinese market. These products include LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology.
Even so, the magnate’s company relies on cameras for sensorisation in the development of its autonomous cars. Although market´s data and different studies show that LiDAR is much more accurate and capable of creating 3D scenarios, and despite the fact that the combination of cameras and LiDAR are the perfect duo in terms of sensorisation and autonomy, Tesla continues to bet everything on cameras.
LiDAR
What is LiDAR? Detection and measurement of light. It is a technology that works through light impulses that map the environment and create a 3D images, detecting even the most confusing corners. All of it in real time. Mark Rober has recorded a video where he explains in detail the operation of this technology, and compares it with the cameras that Tesla uses in its autonomous cars, highlighting their differences and which one works best.
Why the controversy?
The comparison made by Mark Rober is between the well-known Tesla cars and Chinese vacuum robots. While Tesla uses cameras in its sensor system and vehicle autonomy, vacuum cleaners use LiDAR. Rober explains that the LiDAR system emits infrared pulses thanks to the speed of light, so the system is able to detect the distance of the object by the time it has taken. The outcome of the controversy over whether Tesla should take the vacuum robots as an example and and add LiDAR technology to your design.
Tesla vs. Robot vacuums
Tesla’s position on this dilemma is clear; they have bet and will continue to only bet on cameras in their autonomous driving designs. All projects they want to launch, such as robot taxis-automated driverless taxis-will have a camera-only design. Also, as human being never ceases to amaze, there have been cases of Tesla users crashing their cars against walls in an unsuccessful attempt to test the sensors and cameras on their cars.
On the other hand, the iRobot company comes into play. Despite having been the most influential and market leader in cleaning robots, it has experienced how Chinese manufacturers have eaten its lunch. In 2022, the company had a value of $1.2 billion, while in 2024, it barely reached 200 million. Today, despite having cut its losses by 52%, it has lost a total of $145 million.
What happened then? The Chinese cleaning robots went into action. After the pandemic and the sales crash that iRobot suffered, Chinese manufacturers incorporated LiDAAR into their products and swept it all away.
The cunning of Chinese manufacturers
While Tesla continued to run counter-current with the LiDAR system, Chinese cleaning robot companies positioned themselves as market leaders. Its effectiveness, accuracy and attractive prices have managed to replace completely the one who was once the leader, iRobot. Many and varied studies have not only shown that the LiDAR system is better than cameras alone, but that the combination of both technologies make up the perfect combination, creating a system with an almost human operation, able to detect even the strangest shapes and avoid the sudden braking that can occur with cameras.
Perhaps some day Tesla will back down and admit the utility of LiDAR. In the meantime, the Chinese companies of autonomous cleaning robots will continue to rule the market, and who knows, maybe you’ll end up incorporating cameras into your LiDAR system and become an even bigger competitor.
What other threats does Tesla face?
