NVIDIA Paves Way for Tomorrow's Cars With NVIDIA DRIVE Automotive Computers

[btarunr]

Transporting the world closer to a future of auto-piloted cars that see and detect the world around them, NVIDIA today introduced NVIDIA DRIVE automotive computers -- equipped with powerful capabilities for computer vision, deep learning and advanced cockpit visualization. NVIDIA will offer two car computers: NVIDIA DRIVE PX, for developing auto-pilot capabilities, and NVIDIA DRIVE CX, for creating the most advanced digital cockpit systems. These automotive-grade in-vehicle computers are based on the same architecture used in today's most powerful supercomputers.

"Mobile supercomputing will be central to tomorrow's car," said Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO and co-founder, NVIDIA. "With vast arrays of cameras and displays, cars of the future will see and increasingly understand their surroundings. Whether finding their way back to you from a parking spot or using situational awareness to keep out of harm's way, future cars will do many amazing, seemingly intelligent things. Advances in computer vision, deep learning and graphics have finally put this dream within reach.



"NVIDIA DRIVE will accelerate the intelligent car revolution by putting the visual computing capabilities of supercomputers at the service of each driver."

NVIDIA DRIVE PX
The NVIDIA DRIVE PX auto-pilot development platform provides the technical foundation for cars with completely new features that draw heavily on recent developments in computer vision and deep learning.

DRIVE PX leverages the new NVIDIA Tegra X1 mobile super chip, which is built on NVIDIA's latest Maxwell GPU architecture and delivers over one teraflops of processing power, giving it more horsepower than the world's fastest supercomputer of 15 years ago. DRIVE PX, featuring two Tegra X1 super chips, has inputs for up to 12 high-resolution cameras, and can process up to 1.3 gigapixels per second.

Its computer vision capabilities can enable Auto-Valet, allowing a car to find a parking space and park itself, without human intervention. While current systems offer assisted parallel parking in a specific spot, NVIDIA DRIVE PX can allow a car to discover open spaces in a crowded parking garage, park autonomously and then later return to pick up its driver when summoned from a smartphone.

The deep learning capabilities of DRIVE PX enable a car to learn to differentiate various types of vehicles -- for example, discerning an ambulance from a delivery van, a police car from a regular sedan, or a parked car from one about to pull into traffic. As a result, a self-driving car can detect subtle details and react to the nuances of each situation, like a human driver.

NVIDIA DRIVE CX
The NVIDIA DRIVE CX cockpit computer is a complete solution with hardware and software to enable advanced graphics and computer vision for navigation, infotainment, digital instrument clusters and driver monitoring. It also enables Surround-Vision, which provides an undistorted top-down, 360-degree view of the car in real time -- solving the problem of blind spots -- and can completely replace a physical mirror with a digital smart mirror.

Available with either Tegra X1 or Tegra K1 processors, and complete road-tested software, the DRIVE CX can power up to 16.8 million pixels on multiple displays -- more than 10 times that of current model cars.

Positive Industry Support
Ricky Hudi, executive vice president of Electrical/Electronics Development at AUDI AG, said: "Audi and NVIDIA share a common belief‎ that machine learning is a powerful enhancement to our zFAS Piloted Driving technology. Thus, Audi sees DRIVE PX as a crucial tool for further research and development."

Thilo Koslowski, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, said: "The realization of smart automobiles requires high-performance processing solutions that enable sophisticated sensor fusion and innovative machine learning. This will create a new class of self-aware and ultimately self-driving vehicles that can assess, sense, understand and react to the state of their surroundings and occupants."

Availability
Both NVIDIA DRIVE PX and DRIVE CX platforms include a range of software application modules from NVIDIA or third-party solutions providers. The DRIVE PX auto-pilot development platform and DRIVE CX cockpit computer will be available in the second quarter of 2015.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[techy1]

no, no, nooo !!!! me as a multiple car DIY-er - I know the struggle when your car computers do not work as they should or go nutts and only one who can help then (has access to them) is the dealer - and dealer charges triple digits for any kind of vehicle computer (-s) manupulations, and maytimes they call the main computer disposable and that means 2000$+ from you for new one ... why they do like that (you might ask)? Cuz the dealer can and dealer knows that you can't (no access, no interface and no paswords to get "inside" to cnahge, verify or fix anything there)- "so pay up, buddy - or sell your car to junkyard" is their motto ... and now - more computers ??? :'(

PS. ofcorse if you do not own a car or do not pay for it - then never mind - "go nvidia" and more points for you.

 

[HumanSmoke]

no, no, nooo !!!! me as a multiple car DIY-er - I know the struggle when your car computers do not work as they should or go nutts and only one who can help then (has access to them) is the dealer - and dealer charges triple digits for any kind of vehicle computer (-s) manupulations, and maytimes they call the main computer disposable and that means 2000$+ from you for new one ... why they do like that (you might ask)? Cuz the dealer can and dealer knows that you can't (no access, no interface and no paswords to get "inside" to cnahge, verify or fix anything there)- "so pay up, buddy - or sell your car to junkyard" is their motto ... and now - more computers ??? :'(

You're screwed in any event. Microprocessors are taking the place of mechanical systems in ever increasing numbers regardless. Once upon a time, aside from a rebore and crank grind (and maybe motor rewinding and steering box), an avid DIY'er could rebuild a car from the frame up (or chassis if unibody construction), but unless you're dealing with something 20+ years removed, chances are microcontrollers will play a part - whether it's just EFI or something more comprehensive. As a muscle car restorer hobbyist, I can fully understand your sentiment- especially when a computer technician costing an arm and a leg practicing some black box dark art is required that used to involve a couple of hours and a few bucks like re-jetting a carb.
At least with a straight-line rewire of a classic, an electrical fault/blown fuse didn't mean that half the systems of the car got nuked in one fell swoop, but unfortunately the times they are a changing - people now seem to require the car to be a mobile lounge/office with all the creature comforts - with the actual act of driving (and the fun) and doing your own maintenance becoming a secondary consideration.

 

[techy1]

You're screwed in any event. Microprocessors are taking the place of mechanical systems in ever increasing numbers regardless. Once upon a time, aside from a rebore and crank grind (and maybe motor rewinding and steering box), an avid DIY'er could rebuild a car from the frame up (or chassis if unibody construction), but unless you're dealing with something 20+ years removed, chances are microcontrollers will play a part - whether it's just EFI or something more comprehensive. As a muscle car restorer hobbyist, I can fully understand your sentiment- especially when a computer technician costing an arm and a leg practicing some black box dark art is required that used to involve a couple of hours and a few bucks like re-jetting a carb.
At least with a straight-line rewire of a classic, an electrical fault/blown fuse didn't mean that half the systems of the car got nuked in one fell swoop, but unfortunately the times they are a changing - people now seem to require the car to be a mobile lounge/office with all the creature comforts - with the actual act of driving (and the fun) and doing your own maintenance becoming a secondary consideration.

I know - that those times ar long gone - like 15 years ago they were gone... now days everything is controlled by Computers and I do not mid that - Computers are much faster and much more adaptive stuff than mechanical Solutions (example - ignition, fuel injection)... what I bitch about is that acess to those Computers are only for dealers (essepcially here in Europe) - you can not even change a brake pads or reset your MAP sensor if you do not buy (and and fully understand) hacked devices from ebay-Hong-Kong reset and verify those actions in your main Computer... and I have plenty of examples where dealers tries to repair their own false diganose (esspecially in Electronics and ECU department - are they dumb or playing dumb) and tries to charge quadripple numbers for it... just because they know that noone can proof or check (if that diagnose whas right)...

 

[Easy Rhino]

But can it run Crysis?

 

[BadIronTree]

But can it run Crysis?

The Graphics on the windshield are so realistic

 

[the54thvoid]

But can it run Car-isis?

FTFY

 

[techy1]

But can it run Crysis?

I do not know if it can run... but it can make a crysis to your budget, when the waranty will end.

 

[HumanSmoke]

The Nvidia tech showcase featured a segment with Ricky Hudi of Audi regarding the autonomous (driverless) A7 on a road trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas. Looks like the car made it without incident.
All those drivers training hard by paying absolutely no attention to driving at the expense of texting/phoning, shaving/applying makeup, searching for crap in the glovebox, flipping the bird, and rubbernecking now have their ultimate driving machines within their grasp.

 

[Xzibit]

It was also mentioned in its first day it went from Silicon Valley to Bakersfield. Even in traffic you can accomplish that full trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas 3 times in a day.

A 70K+ vehicle that you just sit in and don't drive. Its called a bus.

 

[Easy Rhino]

A 70K+ vehicle that you just sit in and don't drive. Its called a bus.

Well hopefully you can still drive these cars manually. I would use auto pilot for when I drink to much which is fairly often.

 

[HumanSmoke]

Well hopefully you can still drive these cars manually. I would use auto pilot for when I drink to much which is fairly often.

+1.0 BAC

Hopefully we get a few years of this option before Audi's own cars decide to change the marque's name to Skynet, and the A7 morphs into the Die You Useless Meatbag Unlimited Edition.

 

[Xzibit]

Well hopefully you can still drive these cars manually. I would use auto pilot for when I drink to much which is fairly often.

How will you find it?, Remember where you parked it or even if you drove it there in the first place ?

It's no K.I.T.T.

 

[Steevo]

Cockpit. Cock pit. Vagina. Nvidia just made a virtual vagina and have told everyone to go F themselves!!!

Still no parking, snow, rain, or detour driving. So based on my driving experiences 5-6 months of the year no.


We have the ability to drive 2 4K displays, so we decided to drive this car instead.

 

[Easy Rhino]

How will you find it?, Remember where you parked it or even if you drove it there in the first place ?

It's no K.I.T.T.

It easily could be

 

[HumanSmoke]

Cockpit. Cock pit. Vagina. Nvidia just made a virtual vagina and have told everyone to go F themselves!!!

Still no parking, snow, rain, or detour driving. So based on my driving experiences 5-6 months of the year no.

As a concept I really don't have too much of a problem with self-driving cars. People who enjoy driving will still do so. Now think of the people who might well love the idea of autonomous driving such as retirees that normally drive at 10 m.p.h. with an indicator flashing at all times, and soccer moms who veer all over the place when a truck paces them in an adjacent lane, and who block traffic for five minutes at a time while they try to parallel park. Personally I can't wait for these people to be relieved of the responsibility of piloting a vehicle.

 

[GreiverBlade]

But can it run Crysis?

it could ... technically ...

it's a Octacore bigLITTLE arm 57/53 in a 4/4 configuration @ 2.2ghz 64bit compatible and the GPU of the SOC is Maxwell class DX12 Ogl ES 3.1 Cuda and AEP 256 cores (if i remember right what i saw about it on Frandroid fun no technical specs here?)

so that question is kinda useless in that case (even if it's a common joke about new tech/cpu/gpu/computer (read: it has gotten old )

 

[HumanSmoke]

it's a Octacore bigLITTLE arm 57/53 in a 4/4 configuration @ 2.2ghz 64bit compatible and the GPU of the SOC is Maxwell class DX12 Ogl ES 3.1 Cuda and AEP 256 cores (if i remember right what i saw about it on Frandroid fun no technical specs here?)

Anand got a (sort of) hands-on with the Nvidia demo system and have a reasonably comprehensive analysis - certainly better than the cursory news snippets/ PR releases many sites have (re)published.