Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk (Photo : REUTERS/Rebecca Cook)
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO and co-founder Jen-Hsun Huang discussed the application of graphical processing units (GPUs) to self-driving cars, which the former views as a "solved problem."
Huang introduced Nvidia's new Drive PX at the 2015 GPU Technology Conference this week. The big chip contains two of the tech giant's Tegra X1 processors, which allows it to use 2.3 teraflops of computing power, according to Digital Trends.
Nvidia said that the Drive Px's processing power will be able to process up to 12 separate camera inputs to be used for obstacle detection, blind spot monitoring and emergency braking for driverless cars, in which Musk is very much interested in.
Musk said that self-driving cars are similar to the very first elevators, which required operators in order to function, but are now automatic.
The SpaceX founder said that autonomous driving at both highway and low-speeds is not hard to achieve. However, Musk said that the problem would be in smaller locations with more population.
"Where it gets tricky is traveling at about 10 to 50 miles per hour in urban environments," said Musk.
Nvidia and Tesla have been long partners in the electric vehicles industry. The Model S' dashboard display is powered by Nvidia's technology.
The Santa Clara-based tech company is popular for its business in the PC industry, where it leads the GPU market, according to Fortune.
Huang said that a car is basically a computer on wheels. He added that smart cars require super computing technology, which Nvidia can provide. He also believes that the "big bang" driverless cars will be coming soon.
