(So much computing from NVIDIA in just one car – well, it is not a dream any more. The focus must be on technology and know-how and not an in-fight on who owes the name of God and everyone getting so tense on issues that will not elevate the nation with the rest of the developed countries. Image source: http://phandroid.com)
The world is certainly moving on a pace that we have not seen in the past as evidenced by this Wall Street Journal report:-
NVIDIA‘s new Tegra (R) K1 mobile processor will help self-driving cars advance from the realm of research into the mass market with its automotive-grade version of the same GPU that powers the world’s 10 most energy-efficient supercomputers.
Tegra K1 features a quad-core CPU and a 192-core GPU using the NVIDIA Kepler(TM) architecture, the basis for NVIDIA’s range of powerful GPUs — including the processors that are used in the top 10 systems featured in the latest Green500 list of the world’s most energy-efficient supercomputers.
Tegra K1 will drive camera-based, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) — such as pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning and street sign recognition — and can also monitor driver alertness via a dashboard-mounted camera.
“To process the steady deluge of sensor and camera data required by a self-driving car, NVIDIA is bringing highly energy-efficient supercomputer technology inside the vehicle,” said Taner Ozcelik, vice president and general manager of the Automotive business at NVIDIA. “Tegra K1 solves this by providing 10 times the computing power of previous mobile processors without consuming additional energy.”
The Tegra K1 is also the first mobile processor to support CUDA(R) — the parallel computing platform at the heart of modern computer vision. In its automotive-grade form, this super chip is hardened to withstand a wider range of temperatures and withstand harsher operating conditions.
In addition to computer vision, the Tegra K1 processor excels at creating razor-sharp, photo-real 3D graphics. Using NVIDIA’s Material Definition Language — which simulates how light reflects and refracts off of actual materials — digital instrument clusters and infotainment systems can be customized with a wide range of virtual materials, from copper, titanium and brushed aluminum, to stitched leather and carbon fiber.
Libraries of photo-realistic rendered material provide a nearly limitless range of customizable digital cockpit configurations. These allow drivers to configure their gauges, controls and dials to suit their unique tastes.
(Source)
No doubt, as many past milestones in the computing world, it will be only matter of time before even this too would be surpassed by even more powerful and intelligent processes.
And in the meantime, right here in Malaysia, we have this still lurking on the front pages:-
Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir will not be dragged into a fight with Malay rights group Perkasa, who had accused her of seeking cheap publicity by supporting the Christians in the Allah controversy.
Marina, who is the daughter of Perkasa patron Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had refused to comment when she was asked about Perkasa’s criticisms against her. “I don’t want to comment about Perkasa.
They talk so much rubbish,” she said after attending the first National Unity Consultative Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur today.
(Source)
Whilst we have been looking at the wrong issues when the world is flying on a totally different orbit, not all is lost with citizens like Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir (who’s father is the patron of Perkasa) coming out and say that some people in this country talk so much rubbish.
That is correct indeed – something that was further reinforced by this and unfortunately we still have a bit more way to go before we can gain back our sanity on what is more crucial for the nation.