Volvo, Nvidia Working on Autonomous Car Computer

With a long-term goal of safely introducing autonomous cars, Volvo Cars is taking next steps with Nvidia, an artificial intelligence computing company to develop a sophisticated, A.I.-capable core computer for its next generation of cars.

The first Volvo car with the new core computer is slated to arrive in the early 2020s.

The automaker believes the safe deployment of fully autonomous cars will require an enormous amount of computing power coupled with ongoing advances in artificial intelligence — a philosophy that led to the deepening of its relationship with Nvidia.

Critical to the safe rollout of AV, the new core computer will allow Volvo to add advanced 360-degree perception capabilities and a driver monitoring system, for example.

Based on Nvidia's Drive AGX Xavier technology, the core computer will enable Volvo to implement an advanced platform for its new cars on the forthcoming Scalable Product Architecture 2 vehicle architecture — the next generation of Volvo's modular vehicle architecture.

The upgraded computing platform will leverage Nvidia's advances in AI to aid Volvo in implementing advanced driver support systems, energy management technology and in-car personalization options.

SPA 2 takes the existing advantages of the current modular architecture and adds advanced technologies in areas like electrification, connectivity and autonomous drive. The powerful core computer is critical to the process, offering an easy and regular over-the-air software updates.

"As a world leader in safety technology and innovation, Volvo understands there is a direct connection between safety, comfort and the computing capability inside the vehicle," said Jensen Hyang, Nvidia's founder and chief executive.