CES 2015 : Nvidia Announces Drive CX and Drive PX, Digital Cockpits for Cars at CES

Nvidia took the center stage at Las Vegas last Sunday for a press conference ahead of CES 2015. The company announced two digital cockpit for cars that are based on Nvidia’s new X1 processor.

Nvidia will offer two car computers: Nvidia Drive PX, for developing auto-pilot capabilities, and Nvidia Drive CX, for creating the most advanced digital cockpit systems. These automotive-grade in-vehicle computers are based on the same architecture used in today’s most powerful supercomputers.

During the conference, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said that the CX can drive multiple high-resolution displays and virtual machines at once, and supports Android, QNX, and Linux operating systems. The box is designed for cars that use multiple screens to drive multiple interfaces at once.

The devices also come with Nvidia-made software called Drive Studio, which can simulate a car’s cockpit. The company showed off a detailed demo of a rendered 3D speedometer that carmakers and users can change to fit in with the materials and design of the rest of the dashboard.

CEO Jen-Hsun Huang Showing off Drive CX

Nvidia’s roadmap also links up through its new Drive CX platform, characterised as a digital cockpit computer promising a 16.6-megapixel maximum resolution supported by Maxwell GPU architecture. Huang cited analyst prediction that not only display resolutions but the actual number of displays installed throughout vehicles will “grow exponentially” in the next five years.

Huang explained present cars have relatively low-resolution screens. Right now, even high-end cars have a single megapixel on their infotainment systems. Nvidia’s new chip would be able to power far more than what we have today. Recently, dashboards are moving towards the tech makeover, with Nvidia’s new CX, companies like Ford and Chevy that are bringing more tech into their cars.