Toyota to Use Nvidia Drive PX AI Car Computer Platform to Enhance Autonomous Driving Systems

Recently, Nvidia announced a strategic partnership with Toyota. The automobile company will use Nvidia’s AI technology to develop self-driving cars for next few years. Nvidia already has several partnerships with the automotive supply chain to bring fully autonomous cars on the road. Some of NVIDIA’s auto partners include Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Audi, ZF, Baidu, Volvo, and PACCAR. Its partnership with Toyota is the latest in a string of alliances between automakers, tech companies and suppliers in the fast-growing sector.

Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, Nvidia- South Asia told Dataquest, Our collaboration with Toyota, one of the world’s largest automakers, is to deliver artificial intelligence hardware and software technologies that will enhance the capabilities of autonomous driving systems planned for market introduction within the next few years.”

Toyota has worked on autonomous driving technologies for over 20 years with the aim of reducing traffic fatalities to zero and providing mobility for all. The company will now use the NVIDIA DRIVE PX AI car computer platform to power advanced autonomous driving systems planned for market introduction. Engineering teams from the two companies are already developing sophisticated software on NVIDIA’s high-performance AI platform. This will enhance the capabilities of Toyota vehicles, enabling them to better understand the massive volume of data generated by sensors on the car, and to handle the broad spectrum of autonomous driving situations.

According to Dhupar, several automakers are tackling with one of the largest technical challenges i.e to develop a self-driving car. NVIDIA DRIVE PX, the brain of the autonomous car is built with breakthroughs in AI and high performance computing. Our collaboration with Toyota is a clear indication that this autonomous future will soon become a reality for all of us.

Nvidia’s DRIVE PX platform fuses data from cameras, radar and other sensors, the system uses AI to understand the 360-degree environment surrounding the car. Its deep learning capabilities also enable the car to localize itself on an HD map, and anticipate potential hazards and safely navigate through unanticipated situations as it drives while driving. In addition, the system software receives updates over the air, so the car can become smarter and smarter over time.

  “Autonomous cars will take some time to come to India as the roads, driving lanes and many such other factors need to be brought in order for such cars. The availability of India-specific data is also a concern. This has to be adopted for Indian driving skills. The adoption can be done in some parts also like automatic parking. So Indians have to wait for some time for autonomous cars to be developed in India,” he stated.

Globally, over the last two years, NVIDIA’s automotive revenue has risen almost 250%. In fiscal 4Q17, its automotive revenue rose 38% year-over-year to $128 mn, contributing 6% to the company’s revenue. Cars are currently equipped with loads of devices such as black box and infotainment to perform different tasks. The company is looking to combine all these tasks into one platform. “We estimate that autonomous cars are a $6 bn–$12 bn opportunity. Nvidia is at the forefront of the self-driving space and could stand to gain the first-mover advantage if its AI car platform succeeds” he added.

Vishal Dhupar concluded by saying that the automotive industry is likely to adopt self-driving rapidly over the next few years, making a great amount of opportunity for us.