The self-driving company founded by Russian technology giant Yandex NV said Tuesday its new generation of vehicles will rely on sensors developed in-house to better see the road in the country’s often harsh driving conditions.

A software-defined lidar system capable of seeing 500 meters (547 yards) away and operating in frigid weather will be the main sensor on new cars from the Yandex Self-Driving Group, the company announced in a blog post. About 70 cars in Russia, the U.S. and Israel will be equipped with the sensors, which bounce light off of objects and compare the results to a 3D map in order to create a real-time image of the road…

Yandex’s move comes as some plans to deploy autonomous cars have stalled, despite billions of dollars in investment globally. Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving unit Waymo stopped marketing its lidar to other companies and was considering both internal technology and external suppliers for its next-generation sensors, Reuters reported in August.
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