SAN FRANCISCO, July 29 (Reuters) - Aeva Technologies ( AEVA )

said on Tuesday that South Korean camera module maker

LG Innotek will take an equity stake in Aeva ( AEVA ) as part

of a $50 million strategic collaboration.

Aeva ( AEVA ) makes lidar sensors that help vehicles and industrial

equipment gain a detailed three-dimensional view of their

environment and detect how fast surrounding objects are moving.

It supplies sensors to vehicle firms such as Daimler Truck and

industrial equipment makers such as Nikon.

As part of the deal, LG Innotek will make a $32 million equity

investment in Aeva ( AEVA ) for a "single-digit percentage ownership" in

the company, Aeva ( AEVA ) CEO Soroush Salehian told Reuters in an

interview.

The remainder of the deal will go toward building production

capacity for sensors that can go into robotics and consumer

devices, in addition to Aeva's ( AEVA ) existing markets of vehicles and

industrial equipment.

"The ultimate goal of this partnership is for LG Innotek and

Aeva ( AEVA ) to grow together as key players leading the next-generation

lidar market through a long-term technology partnership that

goes beyond the supply of products," the South Korean

electronics supplier's CEO, Hyuksoo Moon, said in a statement.

Salehian told Reuters that Aeva ( AEVA ) is working to integrate its

entire sensor into a single chip whose price can be driven low

enough to make it viable in consumer electronics such as

augmented reality headsets.

"The roadmap that we're going towards is double-digit

dollars," Salehian told Reuters. "We are already working towards

the next generation that will allow for a very low-cost

solution, which we think will be a game changer for mass

adoption of what we call precision sensing."