Ouster L3 chip powers REV7 lidar lineup with OSDome

REV7 sensors are built around L3, a CMOS lidar system-on-chip with 3D backside illumination. Ouster states that the chip brings a tenfold gain in photon sensitivity and an output of up to 5.2 million points per second at lower power draw than earlier generations.

Across the lineup, Ouster claims twice the range, 50% better precision and sevenfold better detection of dark objects. For the OS0 and OS1 it also cites double the points per second, a 15% higher maximum operating temperature and 10% lower power consumption. The company gives no baseline values for these relative figures. The OS2 reaches 200 m on a 10% reflective target and a maximum range beyond 400 m, while the OS0 detects such targets out to 35 m. Range precision is sub-centimeter, with ±0.5 cm quoted for the OS0.

The OSDome joins the family as a new sensor with a 180° hemispherical field of view. The sensor’s rated detection distance is 20 m for a target reflecting 10% of light and 45 m for one reflecting 80%. It runs at frame rates up to 20 Hz, works in temperatures from -40 °C to 60 °C, and carries IP68 and IP69K ratings. Ouster targets indoor security, people tracking and warehouse robots such as forklifts.

On reliability, 94% of the components meet Automotive Electronics Council grade, and dozens of parts are upgraded for higher temperatures, shock and vibration. A revised connector extends the IP68/69K protection to more use cases. Automotive Ethernet in the 1000BASE-T1 standard is now built into the OSDome, OS0 and OS1, so these sensors work with a widening selection of ready-made compute and networking equipment of automotive grade. An OS0 is shown on a Flyability mapping drone navigating Icelandic glaciers.

Why it matters

The L3 generation dates to 2022, and Ouster’s current hardware documentation covers Rev8 as well. The Rev8 OS1 Max is listed with a 500 m maximum range, 10.4 million points per second and native color output, so integrators comparing sensors should check which hardware revision a quoted figure refers to.

Precision at the sub-centimeter level matters for SLAM and dense mapping, the uses Ouster highlights for the OS2 and the drone-mounted OS0. The Ethernet option lets teams reuse automotive-grade networking hardware instead of adding protocol converters.

The OS1, OS2 and OSDome are listed in the directory. Ouster’s Firmware 3.2 release added on-sensor 3D zones and a synced IMU.