Axalta, PPG developing colors, coatings for autonomous vehicle sensor detection

Coating companies are working to get the color spectrum right for autonomous vehicles

Researchers at coatings companies Axalta and PPG are developing and testing a range of colors and coatings that will be visible to lidar sensors in autonomous vehicles in all weather conditions and lighting, according to a report in The Detroit Free Press on 21 August. Axalta, for example, has devised its own test methods and devices to monitor how various colors it tests will perform in different environments. “There are no regulations as to testing the AV detection systems, so we are looking at how do we best detect things. There is no worldwide testing unit or spec that says this is what you have to test,” Nancy Lockhart, color marketing manager at Axalta Coating Systems in Clinton Township, in Metro Detroit, United States, was quoted as saying.