Nvidia Corp. today announced Nvidia Drive Thor, a next-generation automotive-grade system-on-a-chip for safe and secure autonomous vehicles, at its virtual GTC 2022 conference.

Built on the latest central processing unit and graphics processing unit advances, Drive Thor archives up to 2,000 teraflops of performance while unifying intelligent functions, including automated and assisted driving, parking, driver and occupant monitoring, digital instrument cluster, in-vehicle infotainment and rear-seat entertainment. The combination into a single architecture delivers greater efficiency and lower overall system cost, according to the company.

Described as a next-generation “superchip,” Drive Thor includes artificial intelligence capabilities first introduced with Nvidia Hopper Multi-Instance GPU architecture, Nvidia Grace CPU and next-generation GPU. Drive Thor includes MIG support for graphics and compute, enabling IVI and advanced driver-assistance systems to run in domain isolation, allowing concurrent time-critical processes to run without interruption.

With multidomain computing, Drive Thor divides autonomous driving and in-vehicle infotainment all on one computer, allowing vehicles to run Linux, QNX and Android simultaneously. Typically these functions are controlled by different electronic control units through a vehicle, but Drive Thor will enable manufacturers to consolidate those functions into one machine, with resulting cost savings.

“Advances in accelerated computing and AI are moving at lightspeed,” said Jensen Huang, founder and chief executive of Nvidia, said in a statement. “Drive Thor is the superhero of centralized compute, with lightning-fast performance to deliver continuously upgradable, safe and secure software-defined supercomputers on wheels.”

Nvidia Drive Thor will be available for automakers’ 2025 models, with the chipmaker advancing production roadmaps by bringing higher performance and advanced features to market in the same timeline.

The first carmaker to sign up for Drive Thor is Zeekr, a premium electric car brand owned by  Chinese auto manufacturer Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd. Zeekr will integrate Drive Thor on its centralized vehicle computer for its next-generation intelligent electric vehicles, starting production in early 2025.

Also announced today by Nvidia was Drive Concierge, a new service that brings customized AI experiences to every seat.

Designed to make time in vehicles more enjoyable, convenient and safe, Drive Concierge extends intelligent features to every passenger through the Drive AGX compute platform, Drive IX software stack and the Omniverse Avatar Cloud Engine. The capabilities include crystal-clear graphics and visualizations in the cockpit and cluster, intelligent digital assistants, driver and occupant monitoring, and streaming content such as games and movies.

Images: Nvidia