January 07, 2016      

Nvidia at CES 2016 unveiled its Drive PX 2, a new artificial intelligence (AI) platform for self-driving cars. The PX 2 is the sequel to the Drive PX in-car computer that debuted in 2015 and currently is used by more than 50 automotive companies.

Nvidia says Drive PX 2 processes up to 24 trillion deep leaning operations per second, which is 10 times the performance of the Drive PX.

The PX 2 has the processing power of 150 Macbook Pros, the company says. It can process the inputs of 12 video cameras, plus lidar, radar and ultrasonic sensors. It takes all that information to accurately determine where the car is relative to its environment and calculate the safest driving route.

Volvo will be the first automaker to use the Drive PX 2. The car maker will use the deep-learning computer in 100 Volvo XC90 SUVs beginning next year as part of its “Drive Me” autonomous-car pilot program.

“Our vision is that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo by the year 2020,” Marcus Rothoff, director of the Autonomous Driving Program at Volvo said. “Nvidia’s high-performance and responsive automotive platform is an important step towards our vision and perfect for our autonomous drive program and the Drive Me project.”

Nvidia also announced Drivenet, deep learning network that can identify five different classes of objects, including pedestrians and motorcyclists, and it learns over time.