When it comes to the best EVs there's been a lot of advancement with in-car tech over the years. And not simply in how good your music will sound or how easy it is to connect Android Auto or Apple Carplay to the system – but the real behind-the-scenes tech that's making millions of calculations for your safety and comfort.
While the automakers will continue to take care of the nuts and bolts in what physically powers your next car, it might surprise you that your favourite gaming and mobile companies could also be behind the wheel (so to speak) of your next purchase. That's because Nvidia and MediaTek have teamed up to bring the latest output to an end-to-end automotive platform called Dimensity Auto.
Announced as part of Nvidia's GTC (that's Global Tech Conference), the partnership will see MediaTek offering four new chips for its Dimensity Auto Cockpit. But unlike the best phones that the company's chips usually power, these options are specifically designed for cars (catering for the premium, high-end, mid-range and entry-level sections of the market). More options means more future-proofing in the kind of technologies your next car could receive.
Dimensity Auto Cockpit is, as the name would suggest, the experiential in-car part of the platform experience. Able to power displays, controls, cameras, and audio, the full suite could even run in-car gaming experiences. From a graphics perspective that could be bolstered by Nvidia's expertise in graphical processing units (GPUs), but the gaming company's responsibilities actually lie in the 'Drive' part of the platform.
That's to say: Nvidia has long been in the market creating advanced driver assistance systems (known as ADAS) and driver and occupant monitoring systems (DMS/OMS). This very reporter interviewed Nvidia's Gary Shapiro, now Vice President Automotive at the same company, some 12 years ago. It was always the brand's intent to go big in automotive in addition to gaming and GPUs. It even has its own operating system for cars, Nvidia Drive OS, which MediaTek's new chips are fully compatible with.
That's where the MediaTek partnership really comes in: the Taiwanese chip-maker's expertise in that field also covers components and connectivity – the exact complementary additions that Nvidia needs in such a partnership to deliver an end-to-end solution at scale. In the coming years, especially as the competition heats up, you'll likely see a battle between these major mobile companies – MediaTek and Qualcomm most specifically – duking it out to be the platform provider for your next car. So strap in, it could be one heck of a ride.
