Nvidia Highlights Automotive Partnerships and Generative AI Innovations for Robotics

Nvidia showcased its latest advancements in automotive and robotics at CES 2024 today, highlighting groundbreaking innovations and partnerships. The company emphasized the transformative impact of AI on automotive design, engineering, and performance during its online event.

The automotive sector is rapidly adopting generative AI and software-defined computing, paving the way for innovations that will redefine the driving experience in the upcoming year. Nvidia also noted the growing popularity of generative AI in robotics.

Key Partnerships and Innovations

Mercedes-Benz stands out as a key partner, showcasing a range of software-driven features within its MB.OS platform. The presentation featured the Concept CLA Class, which uses Nvidia Drive Orin as its automated driving backbone. Nvidia’s Omniverse digital twin capabilities are also being leveraged to enhance manufacturing and assembly processes.

Ansys demonstrated how it utilizes Nvidia Omniverse to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles with its AVxcelerate Sensors, which enhance vehicle safety through superior data extraction.

Cerence introduced CaLLM, a large language model designed specifically for the automotive sector, which underpins its next-generation in-car computing platform powered by Nvidia Drive.

Cipia highlighted its Cabin Sense system for driver and occupancy monitoring, ready for mass production this year, improving overall safety. Kodiak’s autonomous trucks utilize Nvidia GPUs for high-performance computing, efficiently processing sensor data for autonomous driving, and is collaborating with Luminar.

Lenovo presented a vehicle computing roadmap featuring advanced products based on Nvidia Drive Thor, aimed at enhancing driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving capabilities. Zeekr is also among Nvidia's Drive customers.

Pebble showcased Pebble Flow, an electric semi-autonomous travel trailer powered by Nvidia Drive Orin, marking a leap forward in recreational vehicle technology. Meanwhile, Polestar’s Polestar 3, equipped with the Nvidia Drive Orin central core computer, highlights cutting-edge automotive computing and its collaboration with Google.

Electric vehicle manufacturers like Great Wall Motor (GWM), Zeekr, Li Auto, and Xiaomi are adopting the Nvidia Drive Orin platform to enhance their intelligent automated driving systems.

Xinzhou Wu, Nvidia’s Vice President of Automotive, stated, “The transportation industry is embracing centralized compute for highly automated and autonomous driving. Automakers are increasingly turning to Nvidia Drive Orin for its advanced AI capabilities and looking ahead to its successor, Nvidia Drive Thor, for future roadmaps.”

Nvidia Drive Thor and EV Innovations

Nvidia Drive Thor represents a next-generation centralized automotive computer, integrating various intelligent functions into a single AI platform. It offers capabilities for autonomous driving and parking, as well as driver and passenger monitoring.

Xiaomi is set to release two EV models, with one boasting a driving range of up to 415 miles on a single charge, and another reaching up to 497 miles. The official launch of the SU7 is scheduled for the first half of 2024.

Danny Shapiro, Nvidia’s Vice President of Automotive, highlighted the industry's “seismic shift” driven by breakthroughs in accelerated computing, generative AI, and digital twins. He stressed the importance of the Nvidia Drive platform and how the Omniverse fosters a collaborative virtual environment for automakers to streamline workflows.

“We’re helping automakers transform their entire vehicle workflows,” Shapiro elaborated, noting that Nvidia's unified platform addresses all facets of the vehicle lifecycle—from design and engineering to autonomous driving technology and retail integration.

Nvidia Isaac Robotics

Nvidia’s Isaac platform is making strides in robotics, with 1.2 million developers engaged. Gerard Andrews, Product Marketing Manager for Robotics at Nvidia, discussed how generative AI is being integrated into Nvidia’s Isaac and Jetson platforms, enabling companies like Boston Dynamics to enhance robotic problem-solving capabilities in warehouses.

Deepu Talla, Vice President of Robotics and Edge Computing, emphasized that generative AI is expediting the transition from proof-of-concept to real-world deployment in robotics. He showcased the transformative impact of generative AI within the Nvidia robotics ecosystem, where innovators like Boston Dynamics and Collaborative Robots are reshaping human-robot interaction.