NEW VOLVO EX90 SUV HERALDS AI ERA FOR SWEDISH AUTOMAKER, BUILT ON NVIDIA DRIVE
>> All-electric vehicle is Volvo Cars’ first model powered by the high-performance DRIVE Orin compute platform.
It’s a new age for safety.
Volvo Cars unveiled the Volvo EX90 SUV today in Stockholm, marking the beginning of a new era of electrification, technology and safety for the automaker. The flagship vehicle is redesigned from tip to tail — with a new powertrain, branding and software-defined AI compute — powered by the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin and DRIVE Xavier platforms.
The Volvo EX90 silhouette is in line with Volvo Cars’ design principle of form following function — and looks good at the same time.
Under the hood, it’s filled with cutting-edge technology for new advances in electrification, connectivity, core computing, safety and infotainment. The EX90 is the first Volvo car that is hardware-ready to deliver unsupervised autonomous driving.
These features come together to deliver an SUV that cements Volvo Cars in the next generation of software-defined vehicles.
"We used technology to reimagine the entire car," said Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan. "The Volvo EX90 is the safest that Volvo has ever produced."
Computer on Wheels
The Volvo EX90 looks smart and has the brains to back it up.
Volvo Cars’ proprietary software runs on NVIDIA DRIVE to operate most of the core functions inside the car, including safety, infotainment and battery management. This intelligent architecture is designed to deliver a highly responsive and enjoyable experience for every passenger in the car.
DRIVE Orin and DRIVE Xavier deliver a combined 280 trillion operations per second — ample compute headroom for a software-defined architecture. The system is designed to handle the large number of applications and deep neural networks needed to achieve safety standards such as ISO 26262 ASIL-D.
The Volvo EX90 isn’t just a new car. It’s a highly advanced computer on wheels, designed to improve over time as Volvo Cars adds more software features.
Just Getting Started
The Volvo EX90 is just the beginning of Volvo Cars’ plans for the software-defined future.
The automaker plans to launch a new EV every year through 2025, with the end goal of having a purely electric, software-defined lineup by 2030.
The new flagship SUV is available for preorder in select markets, launching the next phase in Volvo Cars’ leadership in premium design and safety.
Author - Katie Burke - NVIDIA’s Automotive Content Marketing Manager
THINK FAST: LOTUS ELETRE TOPS CHARTS IN DRIVING AND AI COMPUTE SPEEDS, POWERED BY NVIDIA DRIVE ORIN
>> Automaker’s first SUV aims to complete the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany autonomously.
One of the biggest names in racing is going even bigger.
Performance automaker Lotus launched its first SUV, the Eletre, earlier this week. The fully electric vehicle sacrifices little in terms of speed and outperforms when it comes to technology.
It features an immersive digital cockpit, lengthy battery range of up to 370 miles and autonomous-driving capabilities powered by the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin system-on-a-chip.
The Eletre’s autonomous-driving system is designed for more than easier commutes. Lotus plans to train the vehicle to complete the world-famous Nürburgring racetrack in Germany entirely on its own. Powered by Lotus Group autonomous driving platform ROBO Galaxy, Lotus is able to quickly iterate on deep neural network development to optimize the performance of the high-performance hardware system.
With a top speed of 165 miles per hour and an acceleration that starts at 0 to 62 mph in 4.5 seconds for the base trim — and can be as fast as 2.95 seconds for performance versions — this isn’t an average SUV.
Intelligent Performance
The Lotus Eletre thinks as fast as it drives.
It comes equipped with lidar to comprehensively perceive the surrounding environment. That driving data is processed by two DRIVE Orin systems-on-a-chip, for a total of 508 trillion operations per second of performance.
With this level of AI compute, the Eletre can run the deep neural networks and applications necessary for autonomous driving in real time, with additional headroom for new capabilities that can be added over the air.
Drivers of the performance Eletre S can sit back and enjoy the 23-speaker KEF premium audio system while the SUV’s intelligent-driving capabilities take over.
Eventually, they can fire all the proverbial cylinders of the 905 horsepower dual motor — and dual DRIVE Orin — and take the autonomous-driving system to the track.
Ahead of the Curve
Lotus is bringing its racing heritage into the software-defined era with the Eletre. This future is arriving in just months.
Customer deliveries will begin in China and Europe in the first half of next year, with expansion to North America and other global markets in 2024.
Author - Katie Burke - NVIDIA’s Automotive Content Marketing Manager
HELLO, WORLD: NIO EXPANDS GLOBAL FOOTPRINT WITH INTELLIGENT VEHICLE EXPERIENCES
>> Electric vehicle maker transforms car ownership with NVIDIA-powered AI, new business model.
When it comes to reimagining the next generation of automotive, NIO is thinking outside the car.
This month, the China-based electric vehicle maker introduced its lineup to four new countries in Europe — Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden — along with an innovative subscription-based ownership model. The countries join NIO’s customer base in China and Norway.
The models launching in the European market are all built on the NIO Adam supercomputer, which uses four NVIDIA DRIVE Orin systems-on-a-chip to deliver software-defined AI features.
These intelligent capabilities, which will gradually enable automated driving on expressways and urban areas, as well as autonomous parking and battery swap, are just the start of NIO’s fresh take on the vehicle ownership experience.
As the automaker expands its footprint, it is emphasizing membership rather than pure ownership. NIO vehicles are available via flexible subscription models, and customers can access club spaces, called NIO Houses, that offer a wide array of amenities.
International Supermodels
NIO’s lineup sports a premium model for every type of driver.
The flagship ET7 sedan boasts a spacious interior, with more than 620 miles of battery range and an impressive 0-to-60 miles per hour in under four seconds. For the mid-size segment, the ET5 is an EV that’s as agile as it is comfortable, borrowing the same speed and immersive interior as its predecessor in a more compact package.
Finally, the ES7 — renamed the EL7 for the European market — is an electric SUV for rugged and urban drivers alike. The intelligent EV sports 10 driving modes, including a camping mode for off-road adventures.
All three models run on the high-performance, centralized Adam supercomputer. With more than 1,000 trillion operations per second of performance provided by four DRIVE Orin SoCs, Adam can power a wide range of intelligent features, with enough headroom to add new capabilities over the air.
Using multiple SoCs, Adam integrates the redundancy and diversity necessary for safe autonomous operation. The first two SoCs process the 8GB of data produced every second by the vehicle’s sensor set.
The third Orin serves as a backup to ensure the system can operate safely in any situation. And the fourth enables local training, improving the vehicle with fleet learning and personalizing the driving experience based on individual user preferences.
While NIO’s models vary in size and design, they all share the same intelligent DNA, so every customer has access to the cutting edge in AI transportation.
Author - Katie Burke - NVIDIA’s Automotive Content Marketing Manager
