(Jan 6): Nvidia Corp, aiming to extend the reach of its technology, announced a group of AI models and tools designed to speed the development of autonomous vehicles and power a new generation of robots.
The company unveiled a vehicle platform called Alpamayo that allows cars to “reason” in the real world, chief executive officer Jensen Huang said on Monday during a presentation at the CES trade show in Las Vegas.
Potential users can take the Alpamayo model and retrain it themselves, Nvidia said. The free offering is aimed at creating vehicles that can think their way out of unexpected situations, such as a traffic-light outage.
An onboard computer in a car will analyse inputs — from cameras and other sensors — break them down into steps and come up with solutions. Nvidia is building on its work with Mercedes-Benz to develop vehicles capable of hands-free driving on the highway that can also find their way through cities.
The first Nvidia-powered car will be on the road in the first quarter in the US, Huang said. Europe will follow in the second quarter, with an Asia introduction coming in the second half, he said.
“We imagine that someday a billion cars on the road will all be autonomous,” he said.
See also: Waymo to update software across fleet after major power failure
The company also introduced AI models and other technology for robots. It’s working with Siemens AG to bring AI to more of the physical world, Huang said during the event.
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