The graphics chipmaker NVIDIA recently unveiled its new platform for self-driving vehicle tech — the third generation of the Drive PX automotive line, code-named Pegasus.
The company claimed at the reveal event on Tuesday that the new line represents the first “computer chips for developing fully autonomous vehicles,” and also that it now has over 25 customers that are working on the development of robotaxis, self-driving cars, and/or autonomous long-haul semi trucks.
Interestingly, CleanTechnica favorite Deutsche Post DHL Group is now working with the auto parts supplier ZF to deploy a fleet of self-driving delivery trucks using the new chips in 2019.
“Pegasus, is a multi-chip platform the size of car license plates with datacenter-class processing power,” Reuters reports. “Pegasus can handle 320 trillion operations per second, representing roughly a 13-fold increase over the calculating power of the current PX 2 line. A single NVIDIA Xavier-class processor can be used for level 3 semi-autonomous driving, while a combination of multiple mobile and graphics processors would run level 5 full-scale driverless cars, the company said.
“…NVIDIA’s automotive director Danny Shapiro said in an interview that many of the first 25 customers using the Pegasus platform would focus on robotaxis, which will be built without steering wheels or brakes and used only on dedicated routes. Bigger name automakers will announce vehicles running on Pegasus at their own product launches in coming months, he said.”
“…The deal between Deutsche Post, ZF and NVIDIA will include future Deutsche Post StreetScooter delivery trucks. In Munich, the three partners are showcasing a prototype StreetScooter running NVIDIA Drive PX chips used to control sensors including six cameras, one radar and one lidar, or 3D laser camera.”
Shapiro noted that initial deployment of the company’s tech will be on private roads in freight centers and/or on dedicated long-haul trucking lanes.
As it stands, NVIDIA is expecting the Pegasus line to hit the market in the middle of 2018 — going by comments made by company execs on Tuesday.
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