Kudan and Analog Devices successful in the cooperative development of 3D SLAM demonstration software

~KudanSLAM adapted for use in ToF cameras featuring Analog Devices’ products~

Kudan Inc (headquarters in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Managing Director Tomo Ohno) is pleased to announce the successful implementation of KudanSLAM*1 in ToF cameras using products made by Analog Devices, K.K. (headquarters in Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO Osamu Mawatari), and the cooperative development of 3D SLAM demonstration software operating on ROS (Robot Operating System).

The demonstration software featuring KudanSLAM is compatible with ToF cameras provided by Analog Devices and manufactured by its partner companies. Currently, Kudan’s 3D SLAM is available for evaluation through the use of ToF cameras manufactured by Central Information Systems Co., Ltd. (CIS; headquarters in Hachioji City, Tokyo; President and CEO Yusuke Muraoka) and the ROS driver released on GitHub. Additionally, the use of ToF cameras in autonomous robotics allows 3D SLAM to function even in poorly-lit locations for which standalone RGB cameras are not well-suited. The provision of all of these features on ROS will not only shorten development times, but will provide a wide range of benefits to robotics developers and researchers of autonomous driving and other associated technologies through the implementation in the same devices of 3D SLAM and ToF-specific obstacle-detection functionality.

KudanSLAM is a technology created through Kudan’s independent research and development of the spatial and location cognition technology known as SLAM. Capable of high-speed, low-load processing, KudanSLAM enables devices to track their own position and produce a 3D map of their surroundings in real time, through visual input from cameras or depth input from LiDAR or ToF sensors. Furthermore, KudanSLAM has a proven record of practical applicability and adaptability, enabling it to be implemented across a broad spectrum of devices and use cases, and flexibly combined with a diverse array of processors, operating systems, sensors, and other hardware.

The ToF cameras manufactured by CIS used in this project employ Analog Devices’ Analog Front End, which allows the facilitation of high-precision, high-resolution ToF imaging applications. (More detailed information can be found at https://bit.ly/3czO4PI)

 

Comments from Takahiko Kadokawa, IHC Solutions & Technology Senior Field Application Engineer at Analog Devices:
“Having identified the tremendous potential of Kudan’s high-speed, low-load SLAM technology, and having combined it with our company’s own high-precision ToF solutions, we have huge expectations for the creation of new added value and business opportunities. Furthermore, we believe the parallel development of autonomous vehicles or robotics applications using 3D SLAM together with high-precision distance-measuring solutions will allow for the acquisition of swift feedback from the market, which can then be applied to the development of future solution technology.”

Comments from Satoshi Chiba, Senior Manager of Business Development at Kudan:
“There is currently high global demand for autonomous, mobile robots, in order to facilitate the avoidance of close contact between individuals. SLAM is a vital component of the technology underpinning such robotics, and remains a highly challenging field. The cooperation of Analog Devices will not only serve to demonstrate the high level of accuracy and stability of KudanSLAM for ToF cameras, but will also provide robotics developers with an environment in which this technology can be simply tested. I am certain that this will lead to the rapid expansion of the implementation of 3D SLAM technology in the field of robotics.”

*1: SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) is a technology which allows devices to simultaneously self-locate and create maps of their surrounding environment. Kudan owns SLAM technology utilizing both cameras and LiDAR sensors, and has successfully combined these to further develop low-latency, high-precision, high-stability technology.

About Analog Devices
World leader in the high-performance analog field, Analog Devices has provided solutions for a broad spectrum of technical challenges since its inception in 1965. The company acts as a conduit bridging analog with digital, using cutting-edge technology in the fields of sensing, measurement, power management, communication, and signal processing, to help gain an accurate picture of the movement in the world around us.

Analog Devices — Ahead of what’s possible (http://www.analog.com/jp)

About Kudan Inc.
Kudan (Tokyo Stock Exchange securities code: 4425) is a deep tech research and development company specializing in algorithms controlling artificial perception (AP), a technology which provides machines (computers and robots) with the equivalent of human “eyes.” As a complement to artificial intelligence (AI), AP functions as a deep tech which allows machines to develop autonomy. Currently, Kudan is using its high-level technical innovation to explore business areas based on its own milestone models established for deep tech which provide wide-ranging impact on several major industrial fields. In addition to the independently-developed AP technology it has produced, Kudan is also conducting R&D in the fields of machine perception, deep perception and neural perception networks, with an eye to the integration of its technology with artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT).

For more information, please refer to Kudan’s website at https://www.kudan.io/.

■Company details
Name: Kudan Inc.
Securities code: 4425
Representative: Managing Director Tomo Ohno