Audi, nVidia Partner to bring Self-Driving car by 2020
Audi and nVidia are working in partnership to have self-driving cars on the road by 2020. Both companies used CES 2017 to announce their plans. The system will run off nVidia’s latest AI car platform. To showcase their progress, Audi and nVidia developed an Audi Q7 piloted driving concept vehicle to navigate a complex course. The demonstration aims to show the power of end-to-end deep learning. Audi says they will expand testing of its automated vehicles on public roads in California and select states in 2018.
Nissan At CES
Nissan chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn announced the company is working on the next-generation Nissan Leaf, but there wasn’t any details about the timeline or price of the electric vehicle. However, he did share details about Nissan’s self-driving strategy, the new Seamless Autonomous Mobility (SAM) system, which is developed from NASA technology. SAM partners in-vehicle artificial intelligence (AI) with human support to help the vehicle make decisions in unpredictable situations and build the knowledge of in-vehicle AI.
Ford At CES
Ford have announced some big changes at CES 2017 starting mainly with adding electric and hybrid variants of the popular F-150 pick-up and the iconic Mustang by 2020. Ford have also planned on developing a high-volume autonomous vehicle for ride sharing purposes. Ford plan to have this hybrid vehicle debut in 2021. Ford will also bring a Transit Custom plug-in hybrid available in 2019 in Europe which will be engineered to help reduce operating costs in even the most congested streets. Ford also announced a host of various updates to its SYNC 3 infotainment system such as access to Alexa, Amazon’s cloud-based voice service, which allows you to do things like play audio-books, check the weather, and even add items to your shopping list.
Hyundai At CES
Korean manufacturer Hyundai showcased various new technologies at CES 2017 which the company plans to introduce in future models. The manufacturer showcased the Hyundai Healthcare Cockpit: a concept enabled by the monitoring of health and related indicators to help manage the stress and other negative effects of driving. This is achieved by using biometric technology to monitor the driver’s physical and mental state. It reacts by adjusting the driver’s seating position or the cabin light, sound, temperature and even the scent. Hyundai also had a running autonomous Ioniq car, which was revealed at the LA Motor Show and was seen driving people around the streets of Las Vegas.
Volkswagen At CES
Volkswagen used CES to showcase a host of new technologies aimed at personalising cars for their users. Volkswagen showcased a mobile-phone application which allows users to create their own Volkswagen User-ID, which allows owners to import their personal settings for things like the dashboard display or the cabin lighting. This also allows the user to transfer their User-ID from model-to-model in case the owner replaces the car. Volkswagen also had at display the I.D. Concept car which is the first Volkswagen to be based on Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB), the I.D. has a claimed driving range of 600 km, and also hosts the various updates announced by the company at CES. The production version of the I.D. will be launched in 2020.
