Industry First! Benewake Passes Multiple DO-160G Certification Tests

Recently, Benewake's new generation of LiDAR products for aircraft passed multiple environmental standard tests for airborne equipment under DO-160G. As the world's first LiDAR company to participate in DO-160G certification, passing this series of tests marks Benewake's achievement of an international leading level in the field of safe flight.

According to Benewake, the company has currently passed multiple test items including high and low temperature tests, humidity tests, shock resistance tests, vibration tests, water resistance tests, sand and dust tests, salt spray tests, fluid sensitivity tests, and RF-related tests. This proves that Benewake's new generation of LiDAR products for aircraft have reached the highest entry threshold standards of the U.S. aviation industry in terms of both design and quality indicators, which is a first in the LiDAR industry.

To meet the stringent requirements of DO-160G certification, Benewake made significant efforts: In structural and electronic design, the entire optical system was comprehensively upgraded compared to the previous generation, shortening the optical path. The product size was reduced by 1/3 compared to the previous generation, and the weight was reduced by 64%, making the product similar in size to a matchbox. In terms of quality, it meets over 200 various requirements, achieving the strict demands of traceability and 100% monitoring. The most breakthrough item was EMC electromagnetic certification. The common practice in the industry is to add a metal casing, but the heavy metal casing would increase the load on the aircraft, affecting normal user operation. To ensure user experience, Benewake screened nearly a hundred suppliers and finally found a lightweight solution that complies with EMC certification. To verify the usability of the materials, specialized molds were created and nearly 300 hours of experiments were conducted, ultimately fully meeting the performance requirements.

The LiDAR tested by Benewake can detect the distance of targets within a range of 180 meters in real time and feed back information to drones, enabling drones to accurately perceive altitude information so that they can adjust descent speed or flight height in time during descent or hovering. Experts stated that this test has great significance for future commercial applications of aircraft. It makes it possible for drones to hover at a safe altitude in emergency situations, preventing aircraft from crashing to the ground and causing safety accidents, ensuring the integrity and safety of cargo, so that drones can be used with confidence to deliver medicines or other urgent items. In regions with developed low-altitude ecosystems such as Europe, it can even achieve emergency delivery within two hours, which is of great significance in fields such as emergency medical services, disaster relief, and time-sensitive delivery. Benewake stated that passing this test is of great significance for Benewake's LiDAR to enter the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft market in the future. Aviation-grade LiDAR can meet the diverse needs of future low-altitude urban flights for aircraft. In addition to enabling commercial aircraft to meet basic services for urban scenarios such as medical transportation and emergency rescue, it may even provide more possibilities for green travel.

DO-160 is an international standard published by RTCA (Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics), which defines the environmental test conditions, applicable test procedures, and evaluation criteria for avionics to determine their performance characteristics. All aviation product manufacturers must comply with the requirements of this standard. DO-160 testing is recognized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO-7317), the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and aviation regulatory agencies around the world as the international standard for assessing aircraft equipment compliance. It is developed through peer review and collaboration by reviewed members in the industry, with the current iteration being Version G.