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SAFETY ASSESSMENT FOR NVIDIA XAVIER SYSTEM-ON-CHIP (SOC) TO FOSTER SAFE AUTONOMOUS DRIVING

TÜV SÜD assessed the Xavier SoC of NVIDIA Corporation according to ISO 26262:2018 for support of safety functions up to ASIL C in the context of autonomous driving. The Xavier SoC consists of 9 billion transistors and has a die area of 350mm². About 8.000 engineering years were spent for the development. By meeting the ISO 26262 requirements for ASIL C the Xavier SoC is suitable for enabling safe autonomous driving.

NVIDIA Xavier is designed as a Safety Element out of Context (SEooC) to support automated driving systems from SAE L2 through SAE L5 automation levels, including capabilities for perception, localization, sensor fusion, path planning, and vehicle dynamics. It is a complex processor for a vast amount of data generated within autonomous driving experiences. Its GMSL (gigabit multimedia serial link) high-speed IO connects Xavier to the largest array of lidar, radar and camera sensors of any chip.

The assessment by TÜV SÜD was divided in two phases. The first phase included the concept assessment for determining if the safety concept is suitable for fulfilling the applicable requirements of ISO 26262. It was successfully completed in 2018. The second phase focused on the detailed assessment of the implementation of the safety concept. In total, several hundred work products were reviewed including e.g. evidences for functional safety management, requirement specifications, safety analysis, integration and verification reports and user documentation.

By involving cross-functional TÜV SÜD experts in the project all relevant assessment aspects could be covered and the project could be delivered in time in spite of the complexity of the undertaking.

The assessment results showed that the Xavier SoC meets all applicable ISO 26262:2018 requirements for ASIL C. Additionally, a systematic capability of ASIL D could be confirmed. With this assessment project, we further could contribute to bringing new technologies safely to the market.

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The picture shows a NVIDIA SoC, copyright ©NVIDIA Corporation