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Voyant Photonics Introduces Industry’s First Fully Solid-State 4D FMCW LiDAR, Unlocking High Performance Depth and Velocity Sensing to Next-Generation Industrial & Consumer Applications

via Business Wire

Helium™ family brings scalable, cost-effective sensing and high-resolution 4D point cloud data to the emerging era of Physical AI

Voyant Photonics, the leader in chip-scale frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) LiDAR, today announced its Helium™ Platform of fully solid-state LiDAR sensors and modules. The solution is built on a silicon photonics chip, leveraging a breakthrough architecture designed to deliver unprecedented performance, reliability and integration for industrial automation, robotics, mobile autonomy and beyond.

Leveraging Voyant’s proprietary Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) platform, Helium offers camera-like simplicity and unmatched flexibility. Helium uses a dense two-dimensional photonic focal plane array with fully integrated 2D on-chip beam steering — eliminating all unreliable scanning methods: MEMS, mirrors, and resulting in no moving parts. The FMCW LiDAR chip operates a two-dimensional array of surface emitters to create a fully solid-state LiDAR in an ultra-compact, rugged design. Helium also supports multi-sensor configurations combining, for instance, a wide-FoV short-range and narrow-FoV long-range sensing in one system — delivering the most versatile and cost-effective LiDAR solution for advanced perception applications.

Helium’s first prototype release will be demonstrated at Voyant’s booth (LVCC, West Hall, Booth #4875) at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, January 6-9.

Building on the proven architecture of Voyant’s Carbon™ line, Helium™ brings full two-dimensional beam steering to a validated silicon photonics platform for the first time.

Its key advantages include:

  • True solid-state: no MEMS, polygon scanners, rotating assemblies
  • High-resolution planar architecture spanning from 12,000 pixels to over 100,000 pixels
  • Long-range FMCW performance, per-pixel radial velocity
  • Software-defined LiDAR (SDL) enabling adaptive scan patterns and region of interest
  • Ultra Compact Matchbox Size: (<150 g mass and <50 cm³ volume), ideal for drones, mobile robots, and compact industrial systems

Field of view and range can be tailored using custom-designed lenses, and the platform scales from core module to fully enclosed sensor. The module enables OEMs to integrate Voyant’s sensing technology directly into their machines by offering module-only access along with full design-in support. This allows partners to build customized, high-performance sensor solutions tailored to their exact requirements

Helium sensors and modules will be available with multiple resolution and range configurations, supporting a wide choice of field-of-view options—from ultra-wide coverage approaching 180° down to narrower, long-range targeting optics. These modular variants enable OEMs and developers to select and integrate lenses that best suit their application, allowing LiDAR architectures to be tailored for mobile robots, material-handling systems, smart infrastructure, and emerging edge-compute platforms.

Early Access Program

Voyant is opening early access to Helium for early collaborators to engage directly with Voyant and explore custom chip resolution, FoVs, module configurations, multi-sensor fusion architectures, and software-defined scanning features. For more information or to express interest in participating, please contact earlyaccess@voyantphotonics.com

About Voyant Photonics

Voyant Photonics is pioneering the future of sensing with its breakthrough 4D on-chip FMCW LiDAR technology. Powered by its leading proprietary silicon photonics platform, Voyant Photonics LiDAR delivers precision depth and velocity data in a compact, scalable, and cost-effective form factor. Headquartered in New York, the company’s vision is to make advanced machine perception as ubiquitous and affordable as camera sensors — unlocking the Physical AI era across industries and applications.

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