Idaho National Laboratory, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, is conducting a security review of Chinese LiDAR sensors to determine whether they could pose a risk if used widely in vehicles in the United States, according to TechCrunch, which cited two people familiar with the effort. The sources said that a company or group of companies from the electric-vehicle and autonomous-vehicle sectors is funding the research, without disclosing the identities of the supporting parties.
The laboratory declined to comment on the review, explaining in previous responses that it could not discuss the project with journalists. Hesai and RoboSense, two of China's leading LiDAR suppliers, also did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Rivian, General Motors, Ford, Kodiak, Lucid Motors, Nuro, and Uber said they were unaware of the review, while Nvidia, Zoox, and Aurora did not respond to questions about whether they might be participating in it.
What Is the Investigation Examining?
LiDAR technology, an abbreviation for “light detection and ranging,” uses laser pulses to measure the distance to surrounding objects and provides a high-resolution image of the environment near a vehicle. For this reason, it has become an important component in many autonomous-driving systems, particularly among companies developing autonomous robotaxis.
According to the sources, the investigation is focused primarily on cybersecurity risks and could also ultimately give the Chinese sensors a favorable security assessment if it finds no exploitable vulnerabilities. Omer Keilaf, CEO and co-founder of Israeli company Innoviz, believes the potential risks include disabling a large number of sensors simultaneously, which could stop vehicles while they are moving or render others inoperable.
Previous research has demonstrated the possibility of disabling a single LiDAR sensor using a laser, but the material contains no evidence that any party could carry out a widespread disruption of sensors used in autonomous robotaxis. Keilaf also pointed to the possibility of compressing the detailed data that the sensors collect about their surroundings and sending it through a cellular communications chip, raising concerns about the collection of sensitive information.
Why Does This Matter Now?
The cost of LiDAR has fallen substantially over the past decade. While some products cost as much as $75,000 about ten years ago, some Chinese sensors are now available for hundreds of dollars. The expansion of Hesai and RoboSense and lower production costs in China have helped make their products more attractive to automakers, at a time when U.S. companies are struggling to match economies of scale and costs, leading to mergers and withdrawals, including Luminar's filing for bankruptcy.
Several U.S. companies are considering using Chinese LiDAR or benefiting from its technology. Rivian said in March, according to Reuters, that it was exploring the possibility of developing sensors in the United States using Chinese technology and possibly through a joint venture, before its chief financial officer later clarified that the company did not plan to develop LiDAR internally.
The Regulatory Landscape Remains Unsettled
U.S. companies are still permitted to use LiDAR manufactured in China, but the regulatory environment could change. The U.S. Department of Defense added Hesai and RoboSense to its 1260H list, alleging that they support the People's Liberation Army, which restricts their cooperation with the U.S. military. The Commerce Department also banned the use of Chinese-made communications equipment in U.S. passenger vehicles in 2025, but the ban currently does not cover LiDAR or other autonomous-vehicle sensors.
In Congress, Senator Tammy Baldwin and Senator Ted Budd are advancing the Securing Infrastructure from Adversaries Act, while Representative John Moolenaar is sponsoring another bill to ban the use of Chinese LiDAR. The concerns expressed by lawmakers center on industrial and military espionage or the possibility of “backdoors” that would allow data to be sent to Chinese entities. So far, the risks of widespread disruption remain hypotheses under examination; however, an incident in early 2024 disabled autonomous vehicles using Hesai sensors for an entire day because the company had not accounted for the extra day in a leap year, practically highlighting the impact of dependence on sensor software and its suppliers.