Electric carmaker Lucid said it plans to use Nvidia’s “Drive AV” platform and multiple sensors to produce cars with a high level of autonomy.

Lucid said the system would arrive sometime in the coming years, but ruled out 2026.

The autonomous capabilities are first planned for Lucid’s upcoming medium-sized vehicle, and are then to be rolled out to other models such as the current Air sedan or Gravity SUV, Lucid said.

Nvidia platform

The system is intended to offer Level 4 automation, which as defined by SAE International requires no human intervention in most situations.

Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet, offers Level 4 rides in automated taxis in a number of cities, but the technology is not commonly available in consumer vehicles.

Lucid said its platform would be based on Nvidia’s technology, but that it would implement the self-driving platform itself using sensors including cameras, radar and lidar.

In the nearer term, Lucid said it plans to increase the autonomous capabilities of Air and Gravity vehicles.

The technology Lucid is targeting is significantly more advanced than the Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) offered in many vehicles, such as GM’s Super Cruise or Tesla’s Autopilot or “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)”.

The announcement was timed to coincide with Nvidia’s GTC event in Washington, DC, at which the AI chipmaker announced a new self-driving car platform called Hyperion and a partnership with Uber to work on automated taxis.

Automated driving

Electric vehicle sales surged in the US during the third quarter, as consumers rushed to take advantage of government subsidies before they were eliminated, but are expected to face difficulties going forward with the end of substantial government support.

Autonomous vehicle companies have faced ongoing challenges in attaining progress, including pedestrian injuries, civil lawsuits and numerous regulatory investigations.