GM's AI and Automated Driving Overhaul | Future of Cars

General Motors' Comprehensive Vehicle Overhaul

General Motors is undertaking a significant modernization of the electrical and computational systems within its forthcoming vehicles. This initiative aims to facilitate quicker software delivery, enhance automated driving capabilities, and integrate a personalized, conversational AI assistant.

Debut and Future Implementation

The initial manifestation of this overhaul is scheduled for 2027 with the introduction of the Cadillac Escalade IQ.

Beginning in 2028, a novel electric architecture and a centralized computing platform will serve as the foundation for all future GM vehicles, encompassing both gasoline and electric models.

Nvidia Partnership and Computing Power

The compute unit will be powered by the next-generation Nvidia Drive AGX Thor supercomputer, a result of an expanded collaboration between GM and Nvidia, initially announced in March.

Driving Innovation Through Technology

This internal renovation is essential for the introduction of new services and features. These include a conversational AI assistant and a system enabling safe highway navigation while the driver engages in entertainment.

Furthermore, it will allow GM to refine vehicle performance, address issues, and introduce new functionalities to infotainment systems through software updates, enhancing its competitiveness against Tesla and emerging Chinese automakers.

Focus on Speed and User Experience

Sterling Anderson, GM’s Chief Product Officer, has prioritized accelerating the implementation of this new architecture since joining the company in May. He emphasizes the benefits it provides, such as increased bandwidth and a substantial boost in computing power.

Anderson’s overarching objective is to expedite the delivery of technologically advanced products to consumers. He stated a desire to reduce vehicle platform development time from the current four to five years to approximately two years.

The Complexity of Modern Vehicle Systems

Most contemporary vehicles, including those from Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC, incorporate numerous small computers. These manage functions ranging from infotainment and safety systems to propulsion, steering, and braking.

The proliferation of these computers, known as electronic control units (ECUs), has increased over the past decade alongside the expansion of vehicle services and features.

Tesla's Software-First Approach

Tesla, with its software-first strategy, has surpassed established brands due to superior computing power and the ability to deploy updates and improvements wirelessly, mirroring the functionality of smartphones.

Established automakers have invested substantial resources attempting to bridge this technological gap.

The Need for a New Hardware Architecture

Industry consensus points to the necessity of revising the underlying hardware architecture to accommodate the growing computational demands of infotainment, safety systems, and automated driving.

GM's Zonal Architecture

GM is adopting an approach similar to, but distinct from, the zonal architectures utilized by Tesla and Rivian. The company intends to consolidate dozens of ECUs into a unified computer core.

This core will coordinate all vehicle subsystems in real time, connecting to three aggregators that will translate signals from hundreds of sensors into a standardized digital format and relay commands to the appropriate hardware.

Consequently, the central computing platform will integrate all vehicle systems – propulsion, steering, braking, infotainment, and safety – through a high-speed Ethernet network.

A "Full Reimagining" of Vehicle Design

GM characterizes this plan as a “full reimagining” of vehicle design, updates, and ongoing improvement. The company anticipates vehicles with ten times greater over-the-air software update capacity, 1,000 times more bandwidth, and up to 35 times enhanced AI performance for autonomous driving and advanced features.

Evolution of GM's Software Strategy

GM has been progressively pursuing a software-centric approach to vehicle design for several years.

In 2020, the Vehicle Intelligence Platform (VIP) was introduced to enhance data processing and enable over-the-air software updates.

The following year, Ultifi, a cloud-based software platform, was unveiled, promising increased vehicle capabilities and access to in-car subscriptions and apps. While the Ultifi branding has been discontinued, its functionality remains integrated into newer GM models, operating on top of the VIP architecture.

In 2022, GM further consolidated the computers managing the infotainment system into a single computing platform, continuing its pursuit of a more software-defined vehicle.

GM asserts that this latest advancement builds upon all previous efforts.