Sensors Online has a nice summary of the current product management view for LiDAR manufacturers. They spell out these five concerns:

1. Size
2. Cost
3. Reliability
4. Range
5. Eye Safety

Conspicuously missing from the list (pun not intended) is integrity of the data.

Reliability in the above list refers only to environmental risks (“replace the moving parts with a solid-state alternative with each component able to meet Grade 1 temperature and qualification”) instead of the sort of overconfidence in imagery I’ve spoken about in the past (August 2014 “Babar-ians at the Gate: Data Protection at Massive Scale,” Blackhat USA)

To be fair, the article is kind of a hidden marketing pitch, written by a company promoting its new line of products:

…patented flip-chip, back-emitting VCSEL arrays that combine high pulsed power arrays, integrated micro-optics, and electronic beam steering on a chip.

So it makes sense they aren’t going to talk about the more fundamental flaws in LiDAR that their company/product isn’t solving.