Nvidia has just shown the world a glimpse of its latest mobile processor but has said the end-beneficiary of this processor will be car owners (it will be used in smart automobiles) and not smartphone users. As part of this gameplan, Nvidia also unveiled two specialised automotive computers powered by the new chip.
The Silicon Valley chip maker took the curtains off its Tegra X1 chip late on Sunday, as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, USA kicked off. The new chip can carry out a whopping trillion operations per second.
Showing off the Tegra X1 to the members of the press, Jen-Hsun Huang, Nvidia’s Chief Executive Officer said the new devices will help cars see their surroundings, provide warnings to driver and ultimately drive themselves; basically turn into smart cars.
The Tegra X1 has a Maxwell GPU and eight standard processors based on designs licensed by ARM Holdings.
One of the car computers that uses the chip, called the DRIVE PX platform, enables smarter, more sophisticated advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), paving the way for the autonomous car.
Tegra X1 delivers an astonishing 1.3 gigapixels/second throughput – enough to handle 12 two-Megapixel cameras at frame rates up to 60 fps for some cameras. It is equipped with 10 GB of DRAM memory and combines surround Computer Vision (CV) technology, extensive deep learning training, and over-the-air updates to transform how cars see, think, and learn. The platform is designed for developing auto-pilot capabilities.
The other computer that uses the Tegra X1 is Drive CX, which is mainly targeted at relatively near-term tasks like new digital cockpits with ultra-realistic 3D graphics. Besides the hardware, Nvidia is supplying programming tools and other software to help auto designers exploit the new hardware. Car makers are keen on making sure that they can carry forward software from generation to generation of vehicle.
Image Credit: Nvidia
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