Garmin acquires lidar company PulsedLight

Garmin International has acquired PulsedLight Inc., a privately held designer of optical distance measurement technology in Bend, Oregon.

PulsedLight makes sensor boards that are highly accurate, small and lightweight. PulsedLight developed and owns the intellectual property that enables this technology, Garmin stated in a news release.

PulsedLight is the maker of the LIDAR-Lite, an optical distance measurement sensor for automotive blind-spot sensing, smart city traffic monitoring, 3D image scanning, collision avoidance, industrial measurements, security system components and other applications.

“Optical distance measurement technology fits in nicely with Garmin’s core competencies of location and positioning,” said Cliff Pemble, Garmin president and CEO. “We are delighted to add PulsedLight and their capabilities to the Garmin portfolio.”

“We are excited to have the support of a technology leader like Garmin. They are able to provide the resources and manufacturing expertise to integrate our technology into incredibly useful new devices that serve a multitude of markets,” said Dennis Corey, president and co-founder of PulsedLight. “We look forward to an exciting future under the Garmin umbrella.”

The PulsedLight office and its design associates will be retained by Garmin International. Financial terms of the acquisition will not be released.