HEPT Lab: 3D Sensor for Harsh Environments
ABSTRACT
HEPT Lab is a Caltech spin-off startup creating 3D image sensors for operation in harsh environments. The solution is based on the hybrid integration of custom silicon photonics and CMOS electronics ASICs that was developed at Caltech over 10 years. The sensing solution enhances the reliability and safety of autonomous and semi-autonomous operation by providing 3D images that in low visibility scenarios such as dust, fog, and glare, and in all lighting conditions. Unlike existing 3D sensor solutions that are large and expensive, HEPT Lab’s 3D sensor module offers precision LiDAR performance in a compact camera form-factor with no moving parts. HEPT Lab recently won FUSE program’s xTechSearch 9 competition for the proposal titled “3D Sensors for Counter-UAS.” The company is targeting counter-UAS drones, ag tech, and industrial automation as initial markets.
BIOGRAPHY
Austin Fikes is CTO at HEPT Lab. He received his PhD from the Caltech Holistic Integrated Circuits Lab in 2022 and his bachelor’s from Harvey Mudd College in 2016. His PhD work focused radio frequency integrated circuits for large-scale systems. At Caltech he led a team that developed a microwave phased array for wireless power transfer satellite payload which was successfully demonstrated in orbit. At HEPT Lab he gets to sit at the intersection of electronic and photonic integrated circuits, pushing past existing limits of scaling for complex systems. He strongly believes the cost, form factor, scaling, and novel modalities of silicon photonics sensors will play a critical role in how next-generation AI powered autonomous systems understand and interact with the world. He is excited to lead that coming wave with HEPT Lab.