NXPs BlueBox technology is explained in detail on how it works and how it is able to run a vehicle without a driver. (Photo : YouTube/NXP Automotive)
NXP Semiconductors announced use of their BlueBox engine to power self-driving cars in response to rival NVIDIA's launch of autonomous cars during last year's CES. The announcement was also made in order to open this platform to automotive manufacturers.
NXP Semiconductors briefly explained how BlueBox will work in order to contribute in the self-functioning vehicle. In a statement obtained by PC Game, the company said, "In autonomous vehicles systems, multiple streams of sensor data are routed to the BlueBox engine, where they are fused to create a complete 360-degree world model around the vehicle. This functionality greatly improves car safety by both managing and preventing emergency situations."
This BlueBox engine will be utilizing NXP's S32V automotive vision processor and its LS2088A embedded compute processor. This will enable car manufacturers to build more autonomous vehicles in the future since some manufacturers are already starting to produce vehicles using a similar technology .
In comparison to the platform of NVIDIA, NXP's rival, the Netherland-based company stated that their BlueBox Engine technology is a combination of the previous processors they were able to produce in the past. In an interview with IIEE Spectrum, NXP's Microcontroller Business Head Bob Conrad said that their previously established processors for systems like LIDAR, vision and radar were put in combination in this BlueBox technology.
Conrad said that NVIDIA's approach in the Drive PX is different from the BlueBox since the company does not utilize any intermediate processors. Conrad even assured that their business is ahead whether or not autonomous cars will become the trend in the future, according to the same report by IIEE Spectrum.
Autonomous vehicles are expected to hit the roads by 2020, and this is when NXP plans to have their technology prepared in order to offer it to automotive manufacturers that will give them the option to freely modify their vehicles. As of the moment, four out of the five largest car manufacturers in the world are already using this BlueBox technology for their self-driving system initiatives.
Watch the video clip below where NXP demonstrates how a complete autonomous vehicle works.
