Next-generation AI-enabled processor cranks out 1,000 TOPS

April 13, 2021 Editor

NVIDIA revealed its next-generation AI-enabled processor for autonomous vehicles, NVIDIA DRIVE Atlan, which will deliver more than 1,000 trillion operations per second (TOPS) and targets automakers’ 2025 models.

The NVIDIA DRIVE Atlan system-on-a-chip — the newest addition to NVIDIA’s centralized compute roadmap for autonomous vehicles — fuses AI and software with the latest in computing, networking, and security for unprecedented levels of performance and security.

DRIVE Atlan will include NVIDIA’s next-generation GPU architecture, new Arm CPU cores, as well as deep learning and computer vision accelerators. This data-center-like performance provides automakers ample compute capabilities to build software-defined vehicles that are richly programmable and perpetually upgradeable through secure, over-the-air updates.

DRIVE Atlan will integrate an NVIDIA BlueField data processing unit (DPU), which delivers a broad range of advanced networking, storage and security services to support complex compute and AI workloads found in autonomous vehicles. BlueField offers full data-center-infrastructure-on-a-chip programmability, armed with a safe security enclave to prevent data breaches and cyberattacks. DRIVE Atlan is designed from the ground up to handle the large number of AI applications that run simultaneously in autonomous machines, safely and securely.

The company’s original processor for autonomous driving, NVIDIA DRIVE Xavier (30 TOPS) is found in production cars and trucks today, while NVIDIA DRIVE Orin (254 TOPS) has already been selected by leading automakers for production timelines starting in 2022. NVIDIA DRIVE Atlan will extend the NVIDIA DRIVE family of SoCs’ leadership for vehicles’ 2025 production targets and beyond.

Since NVIDIA DRIVE Atlan, Orin and Xavier are all programmable through open CUDA and TensorRT APIs and libraries, developers can leverage their investments across multiple product generations as they establish their future AV production roadmaps.