Volvo Cars is expanding its collaboration with NVIDIA to use NVIDIA DRIVE Orin™ system-on-a-chip (SoC) technology to power the autonomous driving computer in next generation Volvo models.
Large amounts of computing power are a prerequisite for safe autonomous driving. NVIDIA DRIVE Orin, an industry-leading AI-computing platform for the automotive industry, is capable of an unprecedented 254 tera (or 254 trillion) operations per second (TOPS).
Volvo Cars aims to be the first car maker with a global footprint to use NVIDIA DRIVE Orin in its next generation models, based on the forthcoming SPA2 modular vehicle architecture. The first car featuring this SoC is the next generation Volvo XC90, which will be revealed next year.
Volvo Cars’ plans to use NVIDIA DRIVE Orin for its autonomous driving computer are driven by the company’s unwavering commitment to the highest safety standards possible. The NVIDIA DRIVE Orin-powered computer is a key element to enable safe and continuously updated, autonomous driving. It will work together with software developed in-house and by Zenseact, Volvo Cars’ autonomous driving software development company, as well as backup systems for steering and braking.
The added computing power and graphics processing delivered by NVIDIA DRIVE Orin enable advanced sensor suites needed for autonomous driving, such as the state-of-the-art LiDAR technology developed by Luminar, another of Volvo Cars’ technology partners.
Financial terms of Volvo Cars’ deeper collaboration with NVIDIA are subject to final negotiation between the parties.