Ouster, Inc. (NYSE: OUST), a leading provider of high-performance lidar sensors, and LASE GmbH, a worldwide leader in laser-based sensor applications for industrial equipment, announced the signing of their multi-year supply agreement to help further automate and retrofit container terminals and crane systems at ports with 3D digital lidar sensors. This agreement includes a binding commitment for several hundred Ouster OS sensors through 2025.
LASE has thousands of existing installations using static and swiveling 2D laser scanners. LASE plans to offer new solutions utilizing Ouster’s 3D digital lidar sensors to increase and enhance the capabilities of its existing and new installations. Ouster sensors are already being deployed by LASE at ports around the world, including in Poland, Chile, and the United Kingdom.
The LASE system helps ensure safe container handling in and around ports, during both loading and unloading of the container ships as well as in the landside handling areas. LASE typically equips gantry cranes and other port equipment with two or four Ouster OS1 sensors for precise position measurement and object detection to enable safer autonomous or semi-automated handling of containers. This digital lidar-based solution supports collision avoidance between handling machines, people, other port equipment, as well as optimal positioning and safe lifting of cargo on trucks. Additionally, LASE uses Ouster’s sensor for zone monitoring to help safeguard operations in and around the equipment in ports.
The high-resolution and wide field-of-view of Ouster’s sensors1 enables LASE to reduce the number of sensors currently required on a given installation while increasing the coverage area and overall system performance for equal or less cost. In turn, the LASE system enables its end customers to improve the safety of their operations while maximizing efficiency.
The smart port market is valued at around $2 billion today and expected to reach approximately $11 billion by 20302. In 2020, there were over 800 container terminals around the world3, each with multiple cranes and other material handling equipment. The financial and social return on investment from deploying a 3D lidar-based system can be significant given increased functionality and reduced accidents after incorporating these systems.
“We see a massive opportunity for new equipment and to retrofit existing machines with the LASE system using Ouster’s sensors. We have several hundred installations around the world which can be upgraded with 3D lidar to provide multi-functionality and subsequent cost savings and safety benefits,” said LASE Managing Director Lars Ambrosy.