Robots on the factory floor. Self-driving vehicles on the Las Vegas strip. Even a substitute for man's best friend — the robotic dog.They are all part of the physical artificial intelligence buildout that depends on high-tech, low-cost lidar, the critical sensors that allow these technologies to see their surroundings.A Hesai lidar sensor.CNBCAnd at the heart of this buildout is Hesai Technology, a Shanghai-based lidar manufacturer blacklisted as a national security threat in 2024 by the U.S. De...