Nvidia is the latest entrant in the self-driving segment. The company is planning to collaborate with Audi to develop an autonomous vehicle by 2020. The announcement was made at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show 2017.
Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said that the collaboration would work on producing a "Level 4" self-driving vehicle. The "Level 4" implies that the car will be capable of driving on its own. A prototype of the car was displayed at CES 2017.
The prototype vehicle is a Q7 SUV and is reported to have used AI technology to learn how to drive in only four days. Nvidia and Audi have worked together previously.
Nvidia's collaboration with Audi will help the company to further develop its AI technology. The autonomous vehicle is segment is teeming with different companies trying to introduce their offerings in the markets. Some of the major companies vying in this segment are Google, General Motors, and Uber.
"The ability to perceive the world is an enormous breakthrough. What used to be science fiction is going to be a reality in the coming years," Huang said. Nvidia is looking to further augment its AI technology by partnering with some startups in the field.
Huang was accompanied by Scott Keough, the head of Audi of America, who stressed the level of automation of the car. Audi is looking to introduce a Level 3 autonomous car by the end of this year. This car will also use Nvidia software and hardware.
Nvidia has also released Xavier, the successor to Drive PX, which was its first automotive package. Drive PX was released 18 months ago. Xavier comes with eight high-end CPU cores and is capable of providing the performance of a "high-end PC shrunk onto a tiny chip."