Tina Bellon

(Reuters) – TuSimple Holdings Inc said Tuesday it has partnered up with Nvidia Corp to build and design an autonomous driving machine for its self driving trucks.

TuSimple will use the computer as a domain controller to control its commercial self-driving vehicles. The computer will provide power for sensor perception, vehicle operation, and motor drive.

Nvidia provides artificial intelligence expertise, as well its Drive Orin hardware which is designed specifically for autonomous driving.

A controller powered by Nvidia’s chip will be fitted in the autonomous vehicles TuSimple currently develops in partnership with Navistar (NYSE)), which is scheduled for production in 2024.

Cheng Lu, chief executive officer of TuSimple said that the move gives them a competitive edge in speeding up time to market.

TuSimple stated that the design of its controller will be owned by it, and it plans to collaborate with an unknown third-party manufacturer.

Controllers are crucial for self-driving cars. They allow carmakers to centralize the compute-intensive tools such as radars, cameras and lidar sensors.

Domain controllers are centrally managed computing tasks, which saves cost, space, and allows for software upgrades to be done remotely.

There are also other chipmakers like Qualcomm (NASDAQ) Inc. Intel Corp (NASDAQ:). Mobileye (NASDAQ:), and NXP(NASDAQ:) offer domain controller chips to the automotive sector.

Although self-driving freight vehicles are still being used in pilot programs, they have emerged as a major focus in the autonomous industry. These trucks face less regulatory and technological hurdles, and may offer a quicker way to earn returns than passenger robotaxis.