Tier 1 auto supplier ZF just launched ProAI at CES, a production self-driving system that uses the Drive PX 2 AI computing platform created by Nvidia. The Drive PX 2 was announced last year at CES, with the company describing the in-car compute platform as a “supercomputer in a lunchbox” because of its unmatched processing power and size. The PX 2 has roughly the equivalent computing power of around 150 MacBook Pros, as noted by Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang at the time.
ProAi, ZF’s product, is the first use of Drive PX 2 in a production system, and uses Nvidia’s AutoCruise configuration of the platform, which uses just one Parker system-on-a-chip. ProAi is targeting companies doing self-driving cars and trucks, but also industrial vehicles like forklifts. The key to all of these is AI, according to Nvidia, which is why tis platform made sense to ZF.
ZF ProAi’s system also employs vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, so that it can share info not only with connected infrastructure but also with other cars, and even achieve what ZF calls “swarm intelligence,” allowing cars or vehicles connected to one another to learn as a group instead of having to adapt to challenges individually.
ProAi will take into from multiple cameras, LiDAR, radar and ultrasonics sensors to inform its AI-based understand of the driving conditions it encounters and do its route planning. ZF will be doing automotive grade certification of the platform, and plans to start bringing it to production beginning in 2018.