Aeva Technologies, and NVIDIA have announced a strategic collaboration to integrate Aeva’s cutting-edge Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) 4D LiDAR as the reference LiDAR sensor within the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion autonomous vehicle platform ecosystem. The announcement at CES 2026 is a big step for perception technology. It aims to standardize this tech in next-gen autonomous and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS).
The integration targets production vehicle programs scheduled to start in 2028, enabling global automotive manufacturers adopting NVIDIA’s Hyperion architecture to leverage Aeva’s 4D LiDAR technology as their primary long-range sensor for automated driving. By embedding Aeva’s LiDAR in the DRIVE Hyperion platform – which combines cameras, radar, ultrasonic sensors, and NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor compute hardware with the DriveOS automotive operating system – the collaboration strengthens the foundation for safe, scalable Level 3 and Level 4 automated driving.
What This Technology Brings to Automated Driving
Traditional 3D LiDAR sensors provide depth and reflectivity information, but Aeva’s 4D LiDAR also captures instant velocity data for each point in a scene, giving autonomous systems richer motion cues for real-time perception. This per-point velocity measurement enhances detection, tracking, and classification of objects in complex environments – such as moving vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists – at long distances and in low-visibility conditions.
Aeva’s sensors are built on a silicon-photonics LiDAR-on-Chip architecture designed for automotive-grade reliability, high-volume manufacturability and seamless software integration – key attributes for deployment at scale on production vehicles. The selection of Aeva’s technology as the reference LiDAR sensor means OEMs using Hyperion will have a proven, high-performance perception module as part of their autonomous driving solutions.
The DRIVE Hyperion platform itself is an open, modular autonomous driving development platform that includes NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor compute, DriveOS software, and a robust sensor suite. It is certified to industry safety standards and widely adopted by automakers and suppliers as a reference architecture for building production-ready automated systems.
Why This Matters for the Automotive Industry
1. Accelerating Automated Driving Adoption
One major barrier to widespread automated driving is reliable perception in real-world conditions. Adding advanced sensors, such as Aeva’s 4D LiDAR, to popular platforms like DRIVE Hyperion helps the automotive industry standardize the perception stack. This is a key step toward achieving Level 3 and Level 4 automation. This helps reduce development risk for OEMs and accelerates time-to-market for vehicles with higher automation capabilities.
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The ability to capture depth and velocity simultaneously enhances the vehicle’s ability to predict motion, improve object tracking, and maintain safety margins — capabilities that are especially important for hands-off and “mind-off” automated driving systems. This leads to improved lane-changing, highway autonomy, and urban driving features, which are major consumer and regulatory expectations as autonomy matures.
2. Enhancing Perception and Safety
Safety is paramount for consumer and commercial autonomous vehicles. FMCW 4D LiDAR’s enriched data – including velocity information – enables higher confidence in detection and classification of dynamic obstacles in the vehicle’s environment. This can greatly improve advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and lay the groundwork for future fully autonomous systems.
As part of a certified safety platform like DRIVE Hyperion, widely recognized for meeting automotive safety and cybersecurity benchmarks, Aeva’s integration provides OEMs with a validated sensor choice that fits within an end-to-end safety-certified stack.
Effects on Business and Automotive Ecosystem
Automakers (OEMs)
For original equipment manufacturers, using a standardized, high-performance LiDAR sensor within a widely supported autonomous platform reduces integration complexity and validation burden. OEMs can focus on differentiation in user experience, branding, and feature innovation rather than reinventing perception stacks. In markets where safety and regulatory standards are stringent, having a LiDAR system that supports long-range and velocity perception – integrated with NVIDIA’s compute architecture – is a major competitive advantage.
Tier-1 and Sensor Supply Partners
Tier-1 suppliers and sensor makers gain from a growing ecosystem. Perception hardware, like LiDAR, fits into a larger modular reference design. As more OEMs use DRIVE Hyperion, the automotive supply chain can unite around a shared architecture. This reduces fragmentation and helps suppliers scale production, cut costs, and simplify software support.
This creates a better ecosystem of software tools, simulation environments, validation suites, and middleware. These all help support automated driving functions.
Startups and Tech Innovators
Startups specializing in perception software, sensor fusion algorithms, mapping and localization can now optimize their solutions for a standardized sensor and compute stack. A fixed reference platform helps smaller companies validate and certify their innovations faster. They can trust that the hardware, like LiDAR and NVIDIA compute, is already accepted by major players.
Software partners using DRIVE Hyperion can better connect with OEM systems. This helps expand software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and AI-driven mobility apps.
Autonomous Mobility and Services
Shared mobility platforms, robotaxi services and autonomous freight networks – industries that rely heavily on robust perception systems – also benefit. With a high-performance LiDAR sensor integrated into a production-ready platform like Hyperion, service providers can deploy fleets with better environmental understanding and safety guarantees.
Recent trends in autonomous mobility – including partnerships that extend Hyperion’s reach into robotaxi projects – show how platform-level integrations can serve both passenger and commercial mobility markets going forward.
Industry Trends Reinforced by This Collaboration
Software-Defined Vehicles: Platforms such as DRIVE Hyperion highlight a shift to vehicles powered by software and data, rather than just mechanical parts.
Ecosystem Standardization: As more OEMs use the same sensors and computing setups, development and deployment are easier to predict.
Advanced Perception Focus: Vehicle perception stacks now require velocity data and long-range sensing. This is essential for safe, scalable autonomy.
Modularity and Scalability: Open, modular platforms let OEMs use different sensors and computing options. This enables unique vehicle designs and ensures compatibility.
Conclusion
Aeva’s 4D LiDAR is now the reference sensor in NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion. This is a big step for autonomous vehicle perception. It speeds up the automotive industry’s shift to safer and better ADAS and automated driving solutions. Driving the adoption of robust perception technologies within standardized platforms helps reduce barriers for OEMs and suppliers alike, enabling broader deployment of vehicles with advanced automation features in the years ahead.
As the ecosystem continues to expand and integrate more partners, from perception hardware to AI software, the future of automated mobility becomes clearer — with vehicles that can see, understand and respond to the world around them with unprecedented confidence and safety.