The 8th generation Drive Hyperion platform coming out this year
Two NVIDIA Drive Orin system-on-chips and
Providing computing power for autonomous driving and intelligent cockpits


In order to develop a self-driving car, hardware and software must be comprehensively tested and verified to withstand not only real-time processing for autonomous driving but also the demanding conditions of everyday driving. Accordingly, on the 26th, Nvidia unveiled the 8th generation 'Drive Hyperion' platform to support the development of self-driving cars by automakers.

The 8th generation DRIVE Hyperion is a fully operational, production-ready, open autonomous driving platform that reduces the time and cost required to integrate AI and autonomous driving technologies into vehicles. It comes with all the hardware required to validate autonomous driving systems at the highest levels of performance.

At the heart of the platform are two NVIDIA Drive Orin system-on-chips (SoCs), which provide the compute power for Level 4 autonomous driving and intelligent cockpit functions. The Drive Orin SoCs process data in real time from 12 exterior cameras, three interior cameras, nine radars, and two lidar sensors to enable safe autonomous driving.

It also includes tools needed to evaluate the NVIDIA DRIVE AV and DRIVE IX software stacks, as well as real-time recording and capture capabilities for streamlined drive data processing. This entire toolset is precisely synchronized and calibrated for 3D data collection, reducing the time it takes developers to set up and run autonomous test drives.

Currently, the Hyperion platform is being used by institutions such as the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and Stanford University for autonomous vehicle research. The 8th generation DRIVE Hyperion is expected to be available to the NVIDIA DRIVE ecosystem in 2021.