David Hall Returns to CES With Breakthrough AI-Powered Drone Defense and Sustainable Space Launch Technologies

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- David Hall, widely recognized as a founder of the lidar industry, returns to CES to unveil major new innovations from two independent companies: Hall Lidar Inc. (HLi) and Velodyne Space - addressing critical challenges in aerospace, defense and national security.

Decades after his DARPA-funded breakthrough helped launch modern autonomous vehicle technology, Hall is now advancing next-generation solutions designed to improve safety, scalability, and sustainability across airspace defense and space access.

What's New at CES

Hall Lidar Inc.

Hall Lidar Inc. delivers mobile, modular drone tracking and capture systems for defense and critical infrastructure protection. Powered by AI, these systems provide real-time detection, tracking, and interception capabilities, ensuring rapid response against evolving aerial threats. The drone-neutralizing technology offers a safer alternative to shooting drones down with explosives, which can endanger people and property through fire and falling debris.

Hall Lidar will also introduce its Cam-Lidar technology, which fuses cameras, lidar, and AI to identify and track high-speed aerial objects with unprecedented precision.

Learn more about the launch of HLi here and Cam-Lidar here.

Velodyne Space

Velodyne Space introduces a portfolio that includes drone defense capabilities alongside its magnetic-electric launch (MEL) system, which can be applied to both space launch and as the propulsion core of its Drone Catching System (DCS). The powerful but non-explosive MEL system replaces traditional chemical propulsion, dramatically reducing fuel consumption, emissions, and launch costs and timing, making space access more sustainable and scalable. In counter-drone applications, Velodyne Space's DCS can address single drones or drone swarms by sending 5 nets per second.

Learn more about Velodyne Space's Drone Catching System here.

Why This Matters

• AI Integration: Both companies leverage advanced algorithms for predictive analytics and autonomous decision-making.
  
  
• Sustainability: Velodyne Space's launch technology significantly reduces environmental impact, while Hall Lidar's systems are designed for long-term, energy-efficient deployment.
  
  
• Global Relevance: From national security and critical infrastructure protection to commercial spaceflight, these technologies address urgent, real-world challenges.
  
  
• Industry Legacy + Future Vision: David Hall's presence marks a rare story—an innovator who changed transportation decades ago and is now shaping aerospace and defense.

CES Booth Experience: The Future of Launch and Defense Technology

CES attendees can view operable launch equipment, watch never-before-seen video simulations, speak with team engineers and sign up for our first live national demo slated for Spring 2026. 

Media briefings and interviews with David Hall and company leadership are available during CES. Interview inquiries can be submitted to press contacts.

Contacts:

[email protected]

Christie Farrell, [email protected]

Emma Grenier Selvig, [email protected]

SOURCE Velodyne Space; Hall Lidar Inc.