One of the leaders in the development of software systems for autonomous vehicles, Nvidia, has partnered with AutonomouStuff, a supplier of components used within autonomy systems, to produce a development kit to accelerate self-driving research.
Nvidia believes that self-driving cars will make transportation easier, but recognizes that building an autonomous vehicle is arduous, which is why it has joined with AutonomouStuff to make the DRIVE PX on Wheels kit available to researchers and developers working to revolutionize transportation.
The DRIVE PX on Wheels kit is available in three variants – advanced, basic and custom – which aim to makes the transition to autonomy as smooth as possible. Each comes with a vehicle configured by AutonomouStuff with sensors and Nvidia’s end-to-end autonomous driving platform, that is intended to be ready to go on day one, allowing developers to focus on creating their own self-driving systems.
The advanced kit begins with a Ford Fusion, which is loaded with Nvidia’s DRIVE PX artificial intelligence (AI) car computer, as well as cameras, lidar, radar, navigation sensors and a drive-by-wire system.
The Nvidia DriveWorks software development kit (SDK), which comes pre-installed in DRIVE PX, gives developers a foundation for building applications, including computationally intensive algorithms for object detection, map localization, and path planning.
AutonomouStuff installs DRIVE PX, so that developers can instantly access the reference applications, tools and library modules in the SDK. The advanced kit offers an extensive array of sensors and peripherals for data acquisition, storage, and development of applications ranging from SAE Level 3 to Level 5 autonomy. Instead of spending months setting up sensors or calibrating software, developers can move straight to building their own applications.
A basic kit is also available, which includes a Polaris GEM compact electric car, as well as DRIVE PX, DriveWorks, cameras, navigation sensors and a drive-by-wire system. The entry level kit is an affordable option for many development needs, and is ideal for applications such as low-speed campus shuttles in hospitals, colleges, factories and other similar scenarios. For specific research and development needs, AutonomouStuff will configure a custom kit for any vehicle, which provides flexibility with placement and choice of sensors. Several universities and startups are already using DRIVE PX on Wheels, making it easier to use Nvidia’s self-driving car platform to combine surround vision, sensor fusion, and artificial intelligence.
