Volvo is using help from Nvidia

Volvo Cars has long looked with longing at autonomous cars. When the Swedish car manufacturer presented its collaboration with American Nvidia in 2017, the goal was to have its first fully self-driving car on the road by 2021. That is what they did not even get close to achieving – the technology turned out to be significantly more difficult to achieve than expected. – I think that's what you have seen in the entire industry. Self-driving is one of the big challenges within AI and a tremendous amount of capital has gone into it. That's why I think the partnership with Nvidia is so right, because they have invested a lot in these large models, says Volvo Cars software chief Alwin Bakkenes. A deeper collaboration with Nvidia is now being presented, in connection with the AI giant's CEO Jensen Huang's visit to Sweden. The goal is primarily class L2++, where the driver is still responsible but the car can travel from "door to door". This time, no exact year is indicated. – We are not so vague, I think. We say this will come in the first car from this large product push, which will come before the end of the decade, he says. In the new collaboration, Volvo adapts its sensors to Nvidia's technology standard and switches to the AI giant's driving model. – That is the big change, says Alwin Bakkenes. Volvo will also provide Nvidia with some data collected from Volvo cars, for example regarding traffic accidents. – Yes, we will share that data with Nvidia so that the product becomes better. It's a bit like a new safety belt, that's great, I think, says Bakkenes. He points out that Volvo will continue to build software. The AI subsidiary Zenseact will also be involved in the future, without specifying how. – We maintain the code, we collaborate with the engineers, and we still build the complete system. This is not just a purchase, but it is truly a partnership regarding leadership in safety and automation.