Nvidia Unveils Drive AI Concierge With Cerence Voice Assistant Support
Nvidia debuted a new in-car infotainment system with screens and entertainment for individual passengers as well as drivers. The Drive Concierge system ties into Nvidia’s Drive IX software stack and Omniverse Avatar Cloud Engine enabling developers to deploy their own AI assistants and will support popular car AI platforms like Cerence Assistant.
Nvidia AI Assistance
Nvidia’s latest automotive offering has an eye toward autonomous vehicles, with multi-modal and multi-screen designs for entertaining and keeping car occupants engaged. Even without the autonomous driving, the digital cockpit design tracks a driver’s gestures and eye focus to help track driver focus, while the voice assistant alerts them when it’s time to refuel or recharge and otherwise keeps them appraised of their car’s status. Cerence adapted a version of its AI assistant to augment Nvidia’s technology and enable their functioning even when the car loses internet access. As one of the largest automotive AI brands, Cerence is ahead of the curve in some ways, but the point of the Nvidia Drive IX is to allow carmakers to better integrate user experiences with car status monitoring.
“Our collaboration with Cerence enables the delivery of a digital cockpit solution that will empower manufacturers and tier-one suppliers to deploy advanced, connected, and AI-powered features,” Nvidia senior director of automotive platforms Ratin Kumar said. “Integrating Cerence’s industry-leading conversational AI technologies with our DRIVE IX software, we can enable our automotive customers to enhance their digital cockpit solutions to delight drivers while improving safety and productivity.”
Cerence is also working to deploy other features, like its Tour Guide feature that identifies what a driver is looking at when they ask a question about it. The arrangement with Nvidia builds on its recent spate of new and extended partnerships with major carmakers like BMW and Volkswagen. The new partnership potentially offers even more opportunities, especially in China, as Nvidia’s software and hardware could end up in a variety of car brands.
“As an innovation partner to the world’s leading automakers and tier-one suppliers, we are continuously looking for opportunities to deliver turnkey, integrated solutions that shorten time to market while still providing the rich, connected features drivers are looking for,” said Cerence senior vice president Christophe Couvreur said. “In collaboration with Nvidia we will deliver optimized digital cockpit solutions that leverage the Nvidia Drive platform to improve the driving experience in today’s cars and beyond.”
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