STOCKHOLM, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Volvo Cars is expanding its partnership with Nvidia to develop a new generation of driver-assistance and automated-driving technology, the companies said on Thursday, as carmakers race to bring increasingly advanced hands-free driving features to market.
• The companies said Volvo would combine its safety systems and engineering expertise with Nvidia's artificial intelligence and computing technologies, including the Hyperion sensor, computer architecture and autonomous-driving
software stack.
• Alwin Bakkenes, Volvo Cars' head of software engineering, told Reuters the first deployment would focus on supervised driving features, with drivers remaining responsible for the vehicle.
• Bakkenes said Volvo's ambition was to gradually introduce more advanced capabilities, including hands-free driving in urban areas and on highways.
• The move comes as automakers including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Ford target more advanced automated-driving systems, from hands-free highway driving to self-driving operations in limited conditions.
• Tesla is pushing for broader approval of its assisted-driving technology in Europe, including urban areas with an EU-wide vote possible in December.
• The technology should appear in Volvo vehicles before 2030 and will be launched in multiple regions simultaneously, excluding China, Bakkenes said.
• Volvo, which is majority owned by China's Geely Holding, has not chosen a pricing model yet, Bakkenes said, but features would not just be available for higher-priced models.
• Besides Volvo, Nvidia has partnerships with a wide range of automakers, including Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover and Hyundai.
• "The most important functionality of autonomous driving assist technology is safety," Nvidia automotive chief Ali Kani told Reuters. "We believe that we're going to make the stack safer getting to work with Volvo."
(Reporting by Marie Mannes; Editing by Susan Fenton)
