Some more self-driving car deals for NVIDIA

Posted on Tuesday, June 27 2017 @ 11:41 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
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NVIDIA announced a couple of new self-driving car deals. First up is the announcement that the company's partnership with Volvo will be expanded and that the first Volvo cars based on NVIDIA's Drive PX platform are scheduled to hit dealers by 2021. The companies will work together with Autoliv to develop self-driving car software.
Volvo Cars and Autoliv are teaming up with NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) to develop advanced systems and software for AI self-driving cars, the companies announced today.

The three companies will work together along with Zenuity -- a newly formed automotive software development joint venture equally owned by Volvo Cars and Autoliv -- to develop next-generation self-driving car technologies. Production vehicles built on the NVIDIA DRIVE™ PX car computing platform are planned for sale by 2021.

"Artificial intelligence is the essential tool for solving the incredibly demanding challenge of autonomous driving," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, who discussed the initiative during a keynote address at the Automobil Elektronik Kongress. "We are building on our earlier collaboration with Volvo to create production vehicles that will make driving safer, lead to greener cities and reduce congestion on our roads."

Volvo Cars, Autoliv and Zenuity will use NVIDIA's AI car computing platform as the foundation for their own advanced software development.

Hakan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars, said: "Our cooperation with NVIDIA places Volvo Cars, Autoliv and Zenuity at the forefront of the fast-moving market to develop next-generation autonomous driving capabilities and will speed up the development of Volvo's own commercially available autonomous drive cars."

Jan Carlson, chief executive of Autoliv, said: "With NVIDIA, we now have full access to the leading AI computing platform for autonomous driving. Autoliv, Volvo Cars and NVIDIA share the same vision for safe, autonomous driving. This cooperation will further advance our leading ADAS and autonomous driving offerings to the market."

Volvo, Autoliv, Zenuity and NVIDIA will work together to create systems that can utilize deep learning, a form of artificial intelligence, to recognize objects in their environment, anticipate potential threats and navigate safely.

The NVIDIA DRIVE PX system enables full 360-degree, real-time situational awareness and uses a known high-definition map to plan a safe route and drive precisely along it, adjusting to ever-changing circumstances. The system also performs other critical functions, such as stitching camera inputs to create a complete surround-view of the car's environment.

Zenuity will provide Volvo with self-driving software. Autoliv will also sell this software to third-party OEMs using its established and broad sales, marketing and distribution network.
Next there's a strategic alliance with ZF and HELLA that will focus on ensuring self-driving passenger cars achieve the highest NCAP safety ratings:
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today announced it has formed a strategic partnership with ZF and HELLA to deliver AI technology with the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) safety certification for the mass deployment of self-driving vehicles. The agreement is non-exclusive.

ZF, one of the industry's largest automotive suppliers, and HELLA, a leading tier 1 supplier of camera perception software and sensor technologies, will provide customers with a complete self-driving system that integrates front camera units, as well as supporting software functions and radar systems.

Using the NVIDIA DRIVE™ PX AI platform, the partnership aims to produce the highest NCAP safety ratings for passenger cars, while also addressing commercial vehicle and off-highway applications. NVIDIA DRIVE PX offers both NCAP safety and self-driving capabilities on a single platform ready for production.

NVIDIA DRIVE PX will enable ZF and HELLA to develop software for scalable systems starting from modern driver assistance systems that connect their advanced imaging and radar sensor technologies for autonomous driving functionality.

"Creating a self-driving car is one of society's most important endeavors -- and one of the most challenging to deliver," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO, NVIDIA. "Our work with ZF and HELLA will bring AI self-driving solutions that include NCAP safety for millions of cars worldwide."

Dr. Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen AG, said: "We are building up a powerful ecosystem step by step. Earlier this year ZF became the first supplier to adopt NVIDIA AI technology for cars and commercial vehicles in the ZF ProAI box. Just a few days ago HELLA and ZF joined forces in a non-exclusive partnership, and now together we are partnering with NVIDIA to make our roads safer and to support the development of autonomous driving functions."

Dr. Rolf Breidenbach, CEO at HELLA KGaA Hueck & Co., said: "Combining our expertise in front camera perception software and radar sensor technologies with NVIDIA's expertise in deep learning hardware and software will drive technological developments for broad adoption of self-driving capabilities across many transportation segments."

About ZF
ZF is a global leader in driveline and chassis technology, as well as active and passive safety technology, with a global workforce of about 137,000 with approximately 230 locations in some 40 countries.

About HELLA
HELLA develops radar technology, NCAP detection core software, as well as testing services to automakers and tier 1 suppliers, with about 36,000 employees with approximately 125 locations in some 35 countries.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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