Semilux International Ltd. Launches Strategic R&D Collaboration Program on Solid-State Automotive LiDAR Module to Explore the Frontier in Autonomous Driving Technology

Taipei, Taiwan, March 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Semilux International Ltd. ("Semilux" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: SELX), a provider of application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), LiDAR and ADB components and solutions, today announced that it has started a research and development (“R&D”) program (the “Program”) with academics and scholars in Taiwan’s universities to jointly develop a cutting-edge domestic solid-state LiDAR module for automotive applications. Sponsored by the National Science and Technology Council in Taiwan, the Program is at the forefront of R&D and application of the Optical Phased Array (“OPA”), a key area of LiDAR technology which is expected to transform the autonomous driving industry.

The Program is designed to overcome the weakness in the current OPA technology for solid-state automotive LiDAR module. The Company plans to complete the Program by 2025 and divides it into three phases in the process as follows.

1. The R&D on the Innovative OPA-Based Chip: Semilux will be committed to taking the lead in innovatively advancing the OPA technology integrated with the silicon photonics circuit, developing the OPA-based chip as an integral component in solid-state LiDAR module.
2. The R&D on a Comprehensive Solution for Solid-State LiDAR Module: Professor Wood-Hi Cheng and his research team from National Chung Hsing University will focus on a systematic solution for the design and manufacturing of solid-state LiDAR module for vehicles.
3. The Field Trials on Automobiles: The reliability and capability of the module will be tested and validated on mini electric buses through extensive trials in real-life driving scenarios in National Chung Hsing University.
   

Experts from National Chung Hsing University, Turing Drive, and Industrial Technology Research Institute also participate in this program. The new products (the “Products”) in the pipeline of the Program are expected to be first implemented in railway system in small batches in 2024. The Products are planned to be officially launched by 2026 and applied in autonomous vehicles and the low-speed logistics field such as the automated guided vehicles in semiconductor factory and other high-tech factories.