Nvidia Presents World’s First In-Car Al Supercomputer

In an attempt to start 2016 with a bang, Nvidia has recently launched the successor to its previous Drive PX in-car computer.

Called Drive PX 2, this new model is liquid cooled and powerful, featuring 12 CPU cores and 8 teraflops of processing power. It is designed to enable vehicles to precisely sense their surroundings and navigate autonomously. Moreover, it offers autonomous vehicles the latest Nvidia GPU technology, enabling for 360-degree situational awareness.

Nvidia claims that in terms of raw power, it is nearly equivalent to 150 MacBook Pros. The company believes that the power level supplied by the new computer will be required if self-driving cars go mainstream.

With self-driving vehicles utilizing a range of sensors, the Drive PX can naturally process information from wide-ranging sources. It exceptionally handles inputs from 12 video cameras, ultrasonic sensors, as well as both LiDAR and radar. The data gathered is merged and examined by Nvidia’s DriveWorks software tool set, which in turn enables the car to picture the world around it, recognize its position, spot obstacles and map out the safest possible route.

The tool set consists of two Tegra CPUs paired with two discreet GPUs based on Nvidia’s Pascal architecture. That hardware offers 8 teraflops of processing power, allowing for up to 24 trillion deep learning operations per second.

The company notes that the deep learning system is better at tackling certain issues than standard computer vision techniques. Particularly, it is more capable of recognizing and dealing with tough lighting scenarios such as sunrise and sunset as well as unpleasant weather conditions such as heavy rain or snow.

Volvo will put the computer through its paces and employ it in a fleet of 100 XC90 SUVs, which are slated to hit the road in 2017 as part of the automaker’s Drive Me autonomous car pilot program. It is a huge part of Volvo’s long term plan, with the Swedish company claiming that such system will have a huge role to play in road safety.

According to Volvo program director Marcus Rothoff, their vision is zero injury or casualty in a new Volvo by the year 2020. He added that Nvidia’s high-performance and responsive automotive platform is a vital step towards their vision and perfect for their autonomous drive program and the Drive Me project.