Chipmaker Nvidia Launches Tegra X1 Processor To Make Automobiles Smarter

Chipmaker Nvidia has launched a new "mobile super chip" aimed at powering high-end graphics on car dashboards in cars and making self-driving cars smarter. The new Tegra X1 processor will help driverless cars recognize objects, signs, images and lanes.

The new processor would also provide sufficient computing horsepower to automobiles sporting displays built into mirrors, dashboard, navigation systems and passenger seating.

With the help of the Tegra X1 processors, self-driving cars will be able to self park, while improving the driver safety.

The chipmaker says the new processors is capable of understanding the environment around a vehicle, capable of taking actions according to the situations.

The Tegra X1 has twice the performance of its predecessor, the Tegra K1 being used in some popular gadgets such as Google Nexus 9 tablet, and Acer Chromebook 13. Officials launching the product said, a platform is being introduced that combining the two of the X1 chips will process data collected from up to 12 HD camera monitoring traffic simultaneously at 1.3 billion pixels per second.

Tegra X1 by Nvidia contains 256 graphics cores and eight 64-bit CPU cores.

The new processor will be used in Drive CX car platform - "world's most advanced cockpit" for vehicles. According to experts, the ability to be situationally aware and recognize objects is most important, a desirable feature that the new Tegra processor already sports.

"It's really important to have that level of object recognition. That's where Nvidia is going to shine," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, according to PC World.

The new chips, carrying the ability of object recognition, can also be used in robotics, where the robots are highly dependent on object recognition.

"I could see it playing into that market," Moorhead said.