Mercedes-Benz and Nvidia collaborated to develop self-driving technology

KUALA LUMPUR: A daily commute or a long road trip, handled by a fully autonomous car, is still some years away from the masses. Nevertheless, automakers and tech companies are working hard to make it a reality. With the same intent, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz brand has recently teamed up with US technology company Nvidia to create an in-vehicle computing system and AI infrastructure. 

The two companies will be working together to develop the most advanced computing architecture ever deployed in an automobile.

The software-defined architecture will be based on the NVIDIA DRIVE platform i.e., system-on-a-chip Orin technology. It comprises a full system software stack designed for automated driving AI applications. The new technology will be rolled out across the fleet of Mercedes-Benz’s next-generation vehicles from 2024. 

With this, the Mercedes car owners will get state-of-the-art automated driving functionalities; the most primary would be automated driving of regular routes from one place to another. It will also include SAE Level 2 and 3 capabilities and automated parking functions (up to Level 4). 

Moreover, it will also have plenty of future safety and convenience applications. The customers will be able to buy these software applications and subscription services through over-the-air software updates during the car's whole life.

The new platform will become an efficient, centralized, and software-defined system in future Mercedes-Benz vehicles. NVIDIA’s AI computing architecture will help the company streamline its journey towards autonomous driving. These new capabilities and upgrades will be downloaded from the cloud, improving safety, increasing value, and extending the joy of ownership for all Mercedes-Benz customers, says Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz AG.

Jensen Huang, founder, and CEO of NVIDIA said: “We are excited to work with Mercedes-Benz. It’s the perfect partner for us given its long record of innovation and our strong technical relationship. It’s clear from our extensive discussions with Ola and his team that we share a common vision of the automobile of the future. Together, we’re going to revolutionize the car ownership experience, making the vehicle software programmable and continuously upgradeable via over-the-air updates.

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