The National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) and graphics chipmaker Nvidia Corp yesterday inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on promoting autonomous driving technology, with the latter promising to share its several simulation systems.
The NARL on Feb. 25 inaugurated the Taiwan CAR (connected, autonomous and road-test) Lab, the nation’s first closed testing ground for self-driving cars, which has partnered with Acer Inc, 7Starlake Co, National Cheng Kung University and Chunghwa Telecom Co, among others.
Self-driving technology is related to the development of Internet of Things, artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G mobile network technology, making it a vital field for talent cultivation and the nation’s industrial growth, NARL president Wang Yeong-her (王永和) said.
Photo: Copy by Chen En-hui, Taipei Times
Taiwanese companies are skilled in manufacturing vehicle components and subsystems, while Nvidia — a world leader in developing vehicle control systems — could provide them with platforms for testing products, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said.
With nearly 370 partners across the globe, Nvidia plans to share its simulation programs Drive Constellation and Drive Sim, vehicle computer Drive AGX and self-driving car model, named BB8, with the CAR lab’s users, Nvidia global vice president and Taiwan general manager Eunice Chiu (邱麗孟) said.
Users would be able to test their vehicle components and systems in simulated scenarios featuring nighttime, stormy and other weather conditions, she said.
Asked about the cost of using its shared systems, Chiu said the company usually charges automakers a non-recurring engineering fee of US$100 million for use of its system.
Nvidia has been working closely with Taiwanese manufacturers, and company cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) has a certain “sense of mission” to lead Taiwan in moving forward, she said.
Many Taiwanese firms had been absorbed in developing personal computers in earlier decades, but missed out on developing “mobile Internet,” Chiu said, urging them to grab the opportunity to develop AI-related technologies.
NARL Planning and Promotion Office associate researcher Chang Lung-yao (張龍耀) unveiled a four-year blueprint to upgrade the CAR Lab’s facilities until 2022, including plans to start building a 5G network and a database with real traffic accident statistics later this year.
Testing data gathered at the CAR lab would be managed by NARL National Center for High-performance Computing, Wang said.
As to how users would be charged, that would need further discussion, he said.
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