GPU Manufacturer NVIDIA Releases Safety Report

GPU Manufacturer NVIDIA Releases Safety Report

As computing has become more complex, more of the functions that were once the sole responsibility of the processor has been taken over by the processing power of the graphics processing unit (GPU.) For certain calculations it's faster by orders of magnitude is implemented correctly. This puts GPU manufacturer NVIDIA in a great place to utilize their technologies in places such as the critical systems in self-driving vehicles. In fact, many manufacturers have been using NVIDIA parts in their autonomous vehicles for years. 

Recently NVIDIA released a 31 page safety report that gives a great amount of transparency to what technologies they're implementing in self-driving cars and how they function. It focuses considerably on redundancy, showing how their multi-tiered safety features minimizes the possibility for accidents to occur. In short, if one system fails there are several others that will continue operating normally independent of the malfunctioning system.

Their 4-pillar approach to safety happens both inside the vehicle and in their massive supercomputer bank in their data centers. Before a system goes live it has been tested under a variety of evolving conditions that increase in complexity. Their focus on artificial intelligence and computer learning ensures that their architecture will build upon itself, testing for the validity of information as it is assimilated. Testing is performed first in simulations, then on closed tracks before the development team even thinks of putting it into a software release for the hardware inside a vehicle.

The heart of the in-vehicle system is NVIDIA's Xavier, the first self-driving processor ever made. It is comprised of a complex architecture of overlayed chips that makes the hardware in your PC look nearly primitive. Even the cables linking the components such as sensors to the processor are specifically designed for speeds that would make a computer enthusiast envious. 

In systems that will be designated as level 4 or 5 for autonomous driving, its imperative that the the best computing systems be installed. These levels require the least (or no) driver assistance to operate. Acceleration, braking, lane changes, and rapid-response corrections will all be handled by the computer. The goal is to reduce the occurrence of accidents, as incidents of collision are on the rise as the global population increases. Companies such as NVIDIA are giving us the backbone for a future in which we can take rush hour traffic from a white-knuckle nightmare to a peaceful drive. We and our partners at Hustead's Auto Body - Oakland in Oakland, CA urge readers to head to NVIDIA's website and take a look at their report, as it will give you a great look into our driving future and the wonderful technologies that will allow that to happen.

Written By: Todd Hendrickson
Source: https://www.nvidia.com/content/dam/en-zz/Solutions/self-driving-cars/safety-report/NVIDIA-Self-Driving-Safety-Report-2018.pdf