Today, Intel unveiled that in 2018, Intel processing power will be a unit of the Audi A8, a self-governing driving system.
According to reports from the Silicon Valley Business Journal, the Audi will be equipped with processors from Intel’s Programmable Solutions Group (PSG) and from its Wind River subsidiary as a unit of the self-driving system. This will enable the driver for Level 3 autonomous driving. This will prove to be the most refined technology on the road.
Michael Hendricks, automotive director for PSG, stated, “If you look at all these different solutions you’ve got the FPGA (field-programmable gate array) … and the operating system. So a lot of Intel content is in the world’s first Level 3 autonomous driving system.”
Intel established its own Programmable Solutions Group and is responsible for Intel’s field programmable gate array technology. FPGAs provide more flexibility while coding for both hardware and software. They are most widely used in the Internet of Things (IoT) and the data center.
For higher scalability and a safe electronic control unit, it works on the VxWorks operating system that is provided by both the Intel and Wind River companies. The main objective behind using the VxWorks operating system is that it controls and monitors the safety of critical applications.
The Business Journal also reported on Hendricks’ comments:
The Altera portion is doing the object fusion, map fusion, parking, pre-crash, processing, and functional safety aspects of the self-driving car system.