SwedenVolvo Cars is expanding its partnership with NVIDIA to build a driving system that can take a car from door to door, covering highways, busy urban streets and parking. The companies have worked together since 2017. Volvo says the system will debut in a next-generation Volvo as part of the product push it announced in September.
What the system does
The Verge reports that Volvo describes it as Level 2++, a partially automated system that handles traffic lights, stop signs and unprotected left turns without explicit driver control. Level 2 means the driver supervises the car. Volvo’s own release looks further out: it speaks of a gradual introduction of eyes-off and mind-off driving.
Hardware and software
Volvo’s release names three NVIDIA components: the Hyperion sensor and compute architecture, Halos OS and the Alpamayo Stack driving software. The Verge says Alpamayo uses reasoning models to decide where to steer, brake or accelerate.
The Verge adds that the setup does not include lidar, though Volvo could add it later. Volvo contributes its driver-understanding systems, which analyse driver behaviour in more detail than a basic driver monitor, and its connected safety technology, which lets cars share information about hazards and conditions ahead.
Timing and lineup
Volvo plans to offer the system across its lineup, from entry-level to high-end models, but has not said which model gets it first. Alwin Bakkenes, Volvo’s head of global software engineering, confirmed only that it will launch before the end of the decade.
The Verge notes this follows two earlier attempts. Volvo’s Ride Pilot Level 3 system was sidelined in the US after it failed to win regulatory approval, and a plan to add lidar to some models fell away when its supplier, Luminar, went bankrupt.
