Nvidia Builds Chips for Future Self-Driving Cars From Uber and Volkswagen
Nvidia has confirmed it is building chips providing artificial intelligence support for future self-driving cars from Uber and various car makers.
Nvidia is one of the leading chipmakers around the globe, so it did not come as a surprise when it announced during this week's Consumer Electronics Show that it was venturing into building processors for companies that are in the lead in innovating the self-driving cars industry.
One of the future recipients of Nvidia's works is the ride-hailing firm Uber, which will soon utilize Nvidia's AI chips focused on processing autonomous driving.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Since 2015, Uber has been developing vehicles capable of operating without a human driver behind the wheel, with several experiments taking place in Pittsburgh and Phoenix. And as reported by CNBC, the company confirmed it had already completed 50,000 trips over the years.
Meanwhile, Nvidia also said it was expanding its venture into producing AI chips for self-driving cars through its partnership with the German carmaker, Volkswagen. Nvidia will reportedly launch a new lineup of processors under the Drive IX platform that will introduce "intelligent co-pilot" features that will power upcoming Volkswagen vehicles.
This is not the first time Nvidia is collaborating with a major automaker. The company previously teamed up with Volvo with an earlier released chip installed in the Volvo XC90 SUV that was also used by Uber.
It is also important to note that Nvidia's work on AI chips extends to powering self-driving trucks. Reuters also mentioned that there were already 320 companies that joined the self-driving cars industry who have utilized the Nvidia Drive platform for various functions.
The enthusiasm on the part of Nvidia and other chipmakers like Intel is essential in the growth of the self-driving cars industry. As noted by CNET, these vehicles will be needing an all-around mapping of the roads found around the world which can only be achieved through capable processors that the likes of Nvidia can provide.
