Mercedes-Benz and NVIDIA expand AI partnership to develop Level 4 Autonomous Driving Systems

Mercedes-Benz and NVIDIA announced an expansion of their strategic partnership on 16 October, with plans to jointly develop next-generation autonomous driving technology.

The collaboration brings together Mercedes-Benz's expertise in vehicle engineering and safety, its MB.OS operating system and NVIDIA's AI and accelerated computing technology to support more advanced automated driving.

Three NVIDIA technologies

The expanded partnership will see Mercedes-Benz integrate three key NVIDIA technologies into its MB.OS platform:

• NVIDIA Hyperion: An in-vehicle computing and sensor architecture designed to collect and process data from the vehicle's surroundings.
• NVIDIA Alpamayo Stack: AI-powered driving software capable of reasoning through complex traffic situations. It will support point-to-point urban driving assistance, active safety features and automated parking.
• NVIDIA Halos: A safety framework incorporating a parallel safety stack, with redundancy and safeguards designed to improve the reliability of autonomous driving systems.

Together, these technologies will support advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and the development of future SAE Level 4 autonomous driving applications, including fully autonomous luxury vehicles known as Robolimousines.

Mercedes-Benz CLA already uses NVIDIA technology

The two companies have already put some of their jointly developed technology into production.

Mercedes-Benz Chief Technology Officer Jörg Burzer said the partnership had produced the first point-to-point urban driving assistance system from a Western carmaker.

The new Mercedes-Benz CLA is the first model built around the MB.OS platform and incorporates NVIDIA's full-stack DRIVE technology. Its MB.DRIVE ASSIST PRO system combines navigation with driver assistance, allowing the vehicle to assist with driving along a selected route.

More than autonomous driving

The partnership extends beyond autonomous driving. Mercedes-Benz already uses NVIDIA technology for vehicle engineering simulations and within its MO360 digital production ecosystem.

These tools help the company plan manufacturing processes virtually and apply AI across its global production network, with the aim of improving efficiency, flexibility and quality.

Ali Kani, NVIDIA's Vice President of Automotive, said accelerated computing is helping vehicles interpret their surroundings and reason through complex driving situations. He also highlighted Mercedes-Benz's engineering and safety expertise, which the companies intend to combine with NVIDIA Hyperion and its safety technologies.

The expanded partnership shows how Mercedes-Benz is increasingly relying on AI and computing technology alongside its own vehicle engineering expertise. With NVIDIA's technology already appearing in the CLA and being used across its production operations, the next stage will focus on more capable driver assistance systems and the development of Level 4 autonomous driving.

Source: Mercedes-Benz Group official press release

Web: http://www.bitauto.hk/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@bitautohk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bitautohongkong/