Toyota is definitely not on the league of best cars around the globe because the automobile manufacturer caters to the budget friendly buyer group. However, that is not stopping them from experimenting with self-driving cars.
When it comes to building autonomous vehicles, automobile companies can’t achieve the feat on their own. They require help from the technology developers and this time, Toyota has decided to partner with Nvidia. For technology enthusiasts, the name is very familiar as they are one of the leading graphics card hardware manufacturers worldwide and competes against AMD. But, Nvidia also has developed processors in the past and they are used in their Tegra tablets as well as many other Google devices.
With their expertise in the field of chip manufacturing, Nvidia will help power the self-driving cars with the technology the vehicles include. It will include being able to process a lot of data generated by the sensors mounted on the car, stay connected to other cars in the road to identify obstacles and also make use of the newly developed Drive PX computing platform which will soon be part of all upcoming Toyota vehicles.
By joining the autonomous race, Toyota is now part of the league which includes many other top manufacturers including Volvo, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi. Obviously, the list is topped by Tesla which is still ahead of everyone else but the practical issue is that all their models are very expensive. And, they have only two in the market, the Model S sedan and the Model X SUV which are amazing in their own respect but convincing buyers to go away from the tried and tested Honda or BMW is no easy task.
Speaking at the event, Danny Shapiro said, “Tieing up with Nvidia is such a huge milestone for us as it will allow us to proceed with newer technologies and make cars that are autonomous. People love to experiment with new technology and it’s time we deliver them in the world of automobiles as well. Toyota is one of the largest automakers in the world and we will continue to be so.”
Specific product plans are yet to be discussed and even though the partnership was established as early as 2017, it will take time before Nvidia powered by Toyota cars are available in the market. The company is keen on bringing them out in due time, possibly by 2019 which will also be the time to bring in electrified cars.