Saudi Arabia-backed electric vehicle maker Lucid Group is to launch models with near-full autonomy in partnership with chip leader Nvidia, accelerating its self-driving programme and bidding to challenge market leader Tesla.
Lucid is to use Nvidia's Drive AV system, which comes with level 4 autonomous driving capabilities, in its mid-sized vehicles, the California car maker said during the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh on Wednesday.
Level 4 refers to the second-highest of the six levels of autonomy, from 0 to 5, in which vehicles do not require human intervention under most circumstances. Level 5, the highest, requires no human attention, and vehicles with this status may not even have steering wheels or pedals.
Lucid, in which Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has a majority stake, did not provide a timetable for the launch of level-4 EVs.
In July, Lucid teamed up with ride-hailing company Uber Technology and US robotics company Nuro to launch a global robotaxi programme, with Uber planning to use at least 20,000 Lucid vehicles equipped with the level-4 Nuro Driver platform across six years.
"We’re taking the next step by combining cutting-edge artificial intelligence with Lucid’s engineering excellence to deliver the smartest and safest autonomous vehicles on the road," Marc Winterhoff, interim chief executive of Lucid, said on Wednesday.
Driverless, or autonomous, vehicles are seen as the future of transport, and major companies are racing to advance the technology, trying to perfect their platforms.
These vehicles, which have attracted billions in investment, are meant to support the sustainable transport agenda countries for which most countries are aiming.
And despite the progress made, safety concerns still linger – for instance, flaws in software found in cars made by Elon Musk's Tesla have forced recalls.
But with enhanced AI, powered by new-generation hardware and software, "vehicles evolve into software-defined supercomputers on wheels", said Jensen Huang, chief executive of California-based Nvidia. "A new opportunity emerges – to reimagine mobility with intelligence at every turn,” he added.
Separately, Nvidia said Lucid will be adopting the former's Omniverse platform to build digital twins of its factories that will allow real-time factory planning and optimisation.
Omniverse is a computing platform that lets users develop 3D workflows and applications using the Universal Scene Description programme – a high-performance and extensible software platform – in a faster way, boosted by AI and using little to no code.
A digital twin, meanwhile, is a virtual representation of an object or system and is one of the core components of the Metaverse.
Lucid will use Omniverse to train AI-driven robotics systems as well, Nvidia said at its GTC conference in Washington. The platform will also be used by Taiwanese chip makers Foxconn and TSMC, as well as Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, "to accelerate AI-driven manufacturing".
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
