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Volkswagen and NVIDIA work hand in hand for intelligent VW vehicles

With the Consumer Electronics Show 2018 (CES) underway, more and more automakers and new players in the field are announcing or showcasing their new technology. Volkswagen, one of the largest auto makers in the world has announced a partnership with NVIDIA to develop the next generation of Volkswagen vehicles. Using artificial intelligence (AI) as the core of the technology, new uses for it is emerging in the auto industry.

Using Volkswagen’s latest take on their MicroBus, the I.D. BUZZ was reimagined in pure electric car infused with AI at the cockpit and self-driving.

“Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the car,” Diess said. “Autonomous driving, zero-emission mobility and digital networking are virtually impossible without advances in AI and deep learning. Combining the imagination of Volkswagen with NVIDIA, the leader in AI technology, enables us to take a big step into the future.”

“In just a few years, every new vehicle should have AI assistants for voice, gesture and facial recognition as well as augmented reality,” Huang said. “Working with Volkswagen, we are creating a new generation of cars that are safer, more enjoyable to ride in than anything that has come before, and accessible to everyone.”

NVIDIA is in the picture because they make the chips which are powering AI. Harnesing the power of AI, Volkswagen and NVIDIA are hoping that the outcome of “Intelligent Co-Pilot” capabilities will start to emerge. Areas such as assistance system and convenience systems in cars can be managed by AI totally.

Building on the NVIDIA DRIVETM IX Intelligent Experience platform, AI-enabled features such as facial recognition for unlocking the vehicle from the outside, driver alerts for bicycles, gesture recognition for user controls, natural language understanding for flawless voice control, and gaze tracking for driver distraction alerts are all possible.

The I.D. BUZZ is part of the I.D. family with which Volkswagen will launch its electric car campaign and gradually introduce autonomous driving starting in 2020. More than 20 fully electric vehicles are planned by 2025 toward its goal of becoming the world leader in this area.

These new models are based on the completely new MEB car architecture that is consistently geared towards zero-emission, digital mobility and make use of the electric drive’s overall package benefits. Using a battery that is integrated flat in the chassis floor, and a compact drive system, they offer a generous and highly variable interior.