NVIDIA AI platform promises fully autonomous taxis by 2018: Is it possible?

On Tuesday, NVIDIA unveiled the world's first artificial intelligence (AI) computer designed to drive fully autonomous vehicles by mid-2018. The new system, named Pegasus, extends the NVIDIA Drive PX AI computing platform to operate vehicles with Level 5 autonomy--without steering wheels, pedals, or mirrors. Pegasus delivers more than 320 trillion operations per second, or more than 10x the performance of its predecessor, according to NVIDIA. Some 25 partners are currently developing fully autonomous taxis using the NVIDIA technology, according to a press release. These vehicles could arrive on demand to safely drive passengers to their destinations, bringing mobility to more people and allowing professionals to get work done while commuting.