Monthly Report on Automotive New Technology (May 2026)

UHD gaze technology, full-color LiDAR, UWB, etc. promote the upgrade of intelligent driving perception capabilities

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The "Summary of New Technologies at the 2026 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition - Monthly Report on Automotive New Technology (May 2026)" released by ResearchInChina tracks and summarizes the new technologies at the 2026 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.

The special issue focuses on the following technologies:

Ultrahigh definition (UHD) gaze LiDAR, color LiDAR, and UWB replace ultrasonic and other new sensors and innovative applications to promote the upgrade of intelligent driving perception capabilities.

Automotive voice assistants have fully shifted to automotive agents, and introduction of "OpenClaw" in cars has become a craze.

The adoption of there-in-one in-cabin sensor and camera + radar fusion sensor has propelled in-cabin perception into a multimodal era, bringing a disruption to traditional DMS (Driver Monitoring System) and OMS (Occupant Monitoring System).

The application of technologies such as ACRUS precise pixel-level dimming, optical layering, anti-reflection, and photonic transparent display promotes the implementation of new display solutions such as ultra-wide curved screens, dual-view OLED screens, and full-vehicle transparent interactive displays.

Due to the demand for chip upgrades, 3nm, 5nm, and cockpit-driving integration chips come into mass production.

Battery technology continues to innovate, with sodium-ion batteries entering mass production in 2026 and all-solid-state batteries starting small-batch production in 2027-2028.

I. "UHD Gaze" Becomes Key to Improving LiDAR Performance

"UHD gaze" (also known as "intelligent gaze" or "fixed gaze") is a revolutionary intelligent dynamic focusing technology in the LiDAR field. Its core principle is based on the flexible focusing ability of human eyes. Simply put, it allows LiDAR to dynamically adjust the scanning focus area and resolution according to different needs of driving scenarios, instead of uniformly scanning the entire field of view in a "one-size-fits-all" way like traditional LiDAR.

Currently, RoboSense, Huawei, and Seeyond are the main suppliers applying UHD gaze technology.

1. RoboSense's EM Platform

• The IM LS8, showcased at the 2026 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, boasts L3 perception capabilities and L4 modeling capabilities in its intelligent driving system. Equipped with a 520-channel beyond-view LiDAR with an "intelligent gaze" zone equivalent to 1040-channel perception capability, it delivers an effective perception distance of up to 300 meters, allowing it to see further, see more clearly, and recognize more accurately.

The LiDAR is customized on RoboSense's EM Platform (EM4) and adopts the VCSEL + SPAD-SoC advanced digital architecture, crosstalk elimination, full-condition photoelectric signal processing, data lossless compression and many other advanced technologies. It has a 520-channel high-definition point cloud and can accurately recognize small distant objects such as tires, cones and cartons.

2. Huawei's 896-channel LiDAR

• The core advantage of the 896-channel LiDAR launched by Huawei in 2026 lies in its innovative dual-optical path architecture (intelligent gaze technology), allowing it to focus on key dangerous areas like human eyes while maintaining a wide field of view.

At the 2026 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, Huawei Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA), XPeng and Voyah among others installed Huawei's 896-channel LiDAR as the core hardware of L3 intelligent driving solutions.

3. Seyond's Gaze Function

• Seyond's original "fixed gaze" function can generate high-density point clouds locally in the field of view to obtain more accurate three-dimensional information to better track vehicles and pedestrians. The LiDAR has been installed in NIO ET7, achieving mass production and delivery.

The high-density area of the "fixed-focus" function can be dynamically adjusted in real time across the entire field of view to achieve better perception and tracking of vehicles and pedestrians, enabling earlier detection, earlier deceleration, and earlier warnings to users, thereby improving the reliability and safety of autonomous driving.

II. Color LiDAR will solve the "color blindness" problem of traditional LiDAR.

• Color LiDAR essentially marks evolution of sensors from physical combination to underlying fusion. Its core technological breakthrough lies in integrating the photosensitive unit that receives laser echoes and the color sensing unit that receives visible light into the same single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) SOC.

From April to May 2026, Hesai and Ouster, two major LiDAR vendors, successively launched full-color LiDAR products, attempting to solve the problems of "color blindness", fusion, false alarm, and missed alarm in traditional LiDAR.

1. Hesai's 6D Full-Color LiDAR

• In April 2026, Hesai released Picasso, the world's first 6D full-color LiDAR chip which directly integrates RGB color sensing functionality into the LiDAR receiver chip. The Picasso SPAD-SoC uses a single chip to simultaneously complete "full fusion" of near-infrared laser and visible light sensing. Each of its pixel units can not only emit laser light to measure distance, but also capture light to identify colors. This means that when the laser hits an object and reflects back, the chip not only knows where the object is, but also what color it is.

The ETX series LiDAR based on Picasso will be officially mass-produced in the second half of 2026. It can clearly see a traffic cone 300 meters away, a kitten crossing the road 280 meters away, and even identify a piece of fist-sized wood 150 meters away. The maximum detection distance can reach 600 meters, and the detection distance for low-reflection targets such as black vehicles with 10% reflectivity can also reach 400 meters.

2. Ouster's Native Color LiDAR

• On May 4, 2026, Ouster announced its new family of OS digital lidar sensors - REV8. REV8 features its patented native color LiDAR sensors, and provides up to double the range and resolution of the previous generation.

"To perceive the world in full context requires a combination of structure and color, and Rev8 is the first sensor to unify both," said Ouster. For the first time, a single lidar sensor can understand road signs, interpret brake lights, or simply capture the richness of planet earth in survey-grade, colorized maps."

3. UWB is expected to replace traditional ultrasonic radars to achieve near-field sensing.

• In order to achieve functions such as APA and low-speed obstacle avoidance, traditional vehicles usually install ultrasonic radar sensors on bumpers and other locations and make holes in the body. The new Li L9 Livis released at the 2026 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition uses UWB radar to replace the traditional ultrasonic radar, eliminating all sensor openings and achieving a "flawless surface" design. This also represents a new trend in the evolution of near-field sensing technology from traditional ultrasound to UWB.

In the automotive field, UWB products can be used in digital car keys, in-car vital signs monitoring, gesture recognition, intrusion alarms, APA, positioning and collision avoidance, etc. Among them, digital car keys are the largest application field. From 2025 to 2026, digital key solutions containing UWB will grow rapidly in Chinese passenger cars. In 2025, 2.059 million vehicles were equipped with digital keys with UWB, representing a year-on-year increase of 90.7%; from January to February 2026, this figure was 335,000 vehicles, with a year-on-year increase of 117.6%.

In addition, driven by regulations and in-cabin monitoring requirements, Child Presence Detection (CPD) lists UWB as a necessary sensor. Suppliers such as Valeo, AUMOVIO, Hella, YF Tech, UBITRAQ, TsingCar and Jingwei Hirain have started development of UWB digital car key anchor points and CPD multiplexing.

Inspired by Li Auto, in the next 3-5 years, as the supply chain matures, costs decrease, and algorithms and engineering capabilities are improved, UWB is expected to become one of the mainstream technology routes for intelligent vehicle near-field sensing. However, UWB will not completely eliminate ultrasonic radar. The latter will exist in entry-level vehicle models for a long time. The industry is expected to form a pattern of "multiple technical routes are in parallel with high-end vehicle models featuring UWB and entry-level vehicle models supported by ultrasonic radar".