Nvidia lets you play cloud games in the car with the GeForce Now extension

Nvidia has announced that its cloud gaming service GeForce Now will be available for Hyundai, BYD and Polestar cars.

The cloud gaming service has been cooking for a long time, but now it’s taking off with over 25 million users and over 1,000 games. And in other news, contract electronics maker Foxconn has teamed up with Nvidia, which will provide components for automated electric vehicles produced by Foxconn.

Hyundai Motor Group, one of the world’s largest automakers with Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands;
BYD, the world’s leading manufacturer of new energy vehicles (NEVs); and Swedish premium electric vehicle and lifestyle brand Polestar are the first to use GeForce Now in their vehicles.

Of course, it remains to be seen what kind of service is possible in cars, since playing a high-end cloud game over a 4G connection doesn’t sound that appealing. Danny Shapiro, vice president of automotive at Nvidia, said in a press briefing that Wi-Fi connections (which are available in modern cars) would be the best solution and that the company would work with automakers to see what’s possible over 4G or 5G .

“Nvidia will translate and transform how you play games,” said Shapiro. “Our revolutionary GeForce Now streaming service is coming to your car screens. Powered by cloud-based gaming supercomputers, GeForce Now connects to the world’s largest digital game stores. So users can stream from any device, including internet-enabled cars. No special equipment is required. You can stream and play the biggest games charging or waiting to pick up relatives, and you can even entertain kids in the backseat.

Today’s announcement expands Nvidia’s vehicle infotainment offerings, including a range of products and services that enhance the cockpit experience. And it is a sign that Nvidia has software for automotive purposes in addition to its traditional chips.

Shapiro said the new in-car infotainment with apps like GeForce Now will allow the company to stream a real-time, full PC gaming experience beyond desktops, laptops and mobile devices, now to software-defined cars. Nvidia has made a big move to provide AI and graphics processing chips for cars, and how it’s moving to more car offerings.

The new GeForce Now offering can extend the time spent charging or driving in vehicles, as front seat occupants can stream games while parked, and rear seat occupants can game when screens are available. RTX 4080 availability will replace 3080 as the top tier for GeForce Now users paying $20 a month, and it will be available in data centers in January, Jeff Fisher, senior vice president of gaming at Nvidia, said in a news conference.

GeForce Now uses low-latency streaming technology powered by GeForce servers in the cloud, enabling real-time gameplay with over 1,000 titles, including top-rated titles such as A Plague Tale: Requiem, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077, from PC game stores including Steam, the Electronic Arts app, Ubisoft, Epic Games Store, and GOG.com. The service also includes many of the most popular free-to-play games such as Fortnite, Lost Ark, and Destiny 2.

Car manufacturers log in

Hyundai Motor Group uses Nvidia Drive in-vehicle infotainment systems across its Hyundai, Kia and Genesis lineups and will include GeForce Now in select car models.

BYD, which develops its NEVs on the Nvidia Drive platform, is also partnering with Nvidia to bring GeForce Now’s in-vehicle cloud gaming experience to the international automotive market.

And Polestar, which is also powered by centralized computing power from Nvidia Drive, will bring the cloud gaming service to its electric vehicles.

GeForce Now is available from Nvidia in North America and Europe, and through GeForce Now Alliance partners in other parts of the world.

Foxconn is collaborating with Nvidia on automated electric vehicles

In the meantime, Hon Hai technology group (Foxconn), the world’s largest technology manufacturer, today announced a strategic partnership to develop automated and autonomous vehicle platforms with Nvidia.

As part of the agreement, Foxconn will become a leading manufacturer producing electronic control units (ECUs) based on the Nvidia Drive Orin chip platform for the global automotive market. It is another step towards autonomous electric cars.

Electric Vehicles (EVs) manufactured by Foxconn will feature Drive Orin ECUs and Drive Hyperion sensors for highly automated driving capabilities.

“This strategic partnership with NVIDIA enhances the intelligent driving solutions Foxconn will be able to provide. Together, we are empowering the industry to build energy-efficient, automated vehicles,” said Eric Yeh, senior director of the software development center at Foxconn, in a statement. “This is a thoughtful partnership that leverages the unique strengths of both parties as they pursue innovative EV developments and opportunities.”

The partnership with Foxconn will allow Nvidia to further scale its efforts to meet growing industry demand as more transportation leaders turn to Drive Orin for intelligent vehicles, Nvidia said. In addition, by building EVs on the Drive Hyperion qualified sensor set, Foxconn will accelerate its time-to-market and time-to-cost strategies.

“Our partnership with Foxconn provides OEMs developing intelligent drive solutions with a world-class supplier that can scale for volume production of the Nvidia Drive Orin platform,” said Rishi Dhall, vice president of automotive at Nvidia, in a statement. “Foxconn’s decision to also use the Drive Hyperion sensor suite for its EVs will help speed their way to production without compromising on safety, reliability or quality.”

Nvidia Drive Orin’s system-on-a-chip for cars reaches up to 254 trillion operations per second and is designed to handle the large number of applications and deep neural networks running simultaneously in autonomous vehicles.

Nvidia Drive Hyperion is a modular development platform and reference architecture for autonomous vehicle design. Combined, they serve as the vehicle’s brain and central nervous system, processing massive amounts of sensor data in real time so that autonomous vehicles can sense, plan and act safely.

“Foxconn has chosen Nvidia Drive Hyperion as the sensor architecture for its electric vehicles with highly automated driving capabilities,” said Shapiro. “By building their EVs on Drive Hyperion’s qualified sensors, Foxconn accelerates time-to-market and reduces costs without compromising safety, reliability or quality. Foxconn will also be a leading manufacturer producing electronic control units based on Nvidia Drive Orin available for the global automotive market.”