A US Department of Energy laboratory is investigating whether Chinese lidar sensors could pose a security risk if widely adopted in American vehicles. The Idaho National Laboratory is performing the review, with funding reportedly coming from a company or group of companies within the electric and autonomous vehicle sectors.
Lidar, which stands for light detection and ranging, uses laser pulses to measure distances, providing high-resolution data for self-driving cars. The investigation comes as some US lawmakers are pushing for legislation to ban Chinese lidar sensors on American roads.
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) expressed concerns about Chinese lidar being used for military or industrial espionage, stating that the threat to national security "cannot be allowed to go unchecked." Congressman John Moolenaar (R-MI) also voiced worries about potential "back doors" that could transmit information to "Chinese Communist interests."
Omer Keilaf, CEO of Israeli lidar company Innoviz, highlighted two main cybersecurity risks: the possibility of sensors being disabled en masse and the potential for compressed, detailed data to be transmitted via cellular chips. The cost of lidar has significantly decreased over the past decade, with Chinese suppliers like Hesai and RoboSense offering products for a few hundred dollars, making them an attractive option for some US automakers and autonomous vehicle companies.