Ansys Partners with Nvidia to Enhance Sensor Technology for Autonomous Vehicles

Ansys and Nvidia Collaborate to Enhance Sensor Technology for Autonomous Vehicles

Ansys, a simulation software company based in Pittsburgh, is partnering with Nvidia to revolutionize sensor technology for self-driving cars and other autonomous vehicles. The collaboration has resulted in the development of Ansys AVxcelerate Sensors, integrated within Nvidia Drive Sim, a scenario-based autonomous vehicle simulator powered by Nvidia’s Omniverse. This integration is designed to improve the creation and validation of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle (AV) perception systems through high-fidelity sensor simulations.

Ansys is showcasing this innovative technology at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, demonstrating its capability to perform complex physics calculations in dynamic scenes with multiple moving objects.

The integration of Ansys AVxcelerate Sensors into Nvidia Drive Sim provides manufacturers with accurate sensor simulation outputs. These insights are essential for training and validating perception systems in ADAS and AVs, ensuring that autonomous vehicles can navigate safely and reliably, even in challenging edge cases.

Engineers developing AV technology face the significant challenge of ensuring the safety and reliability of sensor suites and software in real-world conditions. Ansys and Nvidia collaboratively address this challenge by bridging the gap between reality and simulation. They leverage Ansys’ physics solvers for camera, lidar, radar, and thermal sensors within Nvidia Drive Sim’s realistic and scalable 3D environments, facilitating scenario generation.

“Integrating Ansys AVxcelerate Sensors with Drive Sim provides developers with enhanced flexibility to develop, test, and validate their autonomous vehicle software,” stated Zvi Greenstein, Vice President of Autonomous Vehicle Infrastructure at Nvidia.

Nvidia emphasizes that an open ecosystem is essential for collaboration. Its Omniverse platform allows users to create OpenUSD-based 3D workflows, which are flexible and modular, enabling scalable simulations and functioning as a data factory for AI model training. Developers can utilize Omniverse to create custom synthetic data generation pipelines, producing annotated data to train on-board computer vision systems. The integration with Ansys AVxcelerate Sensors is facilitated by application programming interfaces (APIs), enabling seamless incorporation of Ansys physics solvers into Nvidia’s 3D virtual environment.

“Perception is critical for AV systems, requiring validation through real-world data for AI to make intelligent, safe decisions,” said Walt Hearn, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Customer Excellence at Ansys. “Combining Ansys AVxcelerate Sensors with Nvidia Drive Sim, powered by Omniverse, provides a comprehensive testing ground for developers to evaluate essential environmental interactions, thereby accelerating the development of AV technology for OEMs.”

For over 50 years, Ansys has been creating simulation software that aids companies in bridging the gap between design and reality, fostering advances in sectors ranging from sustainable transportation to life-saving medical devices.