Nvidia forges humanoid robot partnerships with European chipmakers ahead of major conference

Nvidia strikes humanoid robot partnerships with European chipmakers

AMSTERDAM, March 16 (Reuters) - European chipmakers Infineon (IFXGn.DE), opens new tab, NXP (NXPI.O), opens new tab and STMicroelectronics (STMPA.PA), opens new tab on Monday all announced partnerships with Nvidia to sell hardware for humanoid robots, as they vie for business in a potentially lucrative market. U.S. chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab coordinated the announcements on the eve of its annual GPU Technology Conference in California where its efforts to become the "brain", or central computing platform for robots with its Jetson Thor processors, are likely to be ⁠one focus. The role for Europe's industrial chipmakers is to provide other parts of the body, including electronics needed to make them work safely and reliably, sensors, motion control, power management, and high-speed internal communications. OVERLAP WITH TECH HARDWARE USED IN CARS The chipmakers are all major suppliers of tech hardware used in cars, which analysts say has significant overlap with humanoid and other advanced robots. George Chowdhury, an analyst at ABI Research, said it was natural for the Europeans to seek partnerships with Nvidia, estimating that Nvidia's platform is used in more than 80% of humanoid robots. Chowdhury said ⁠higher-end humanoids can cost around $200,000, while lower-cost models can be priced at roughly a tenth of that. TrendForce estimates more than 50,000 humanoid robots will be sold this year for the first time. A spokesperson for Infineon said the company anticipates a market of about $500 in parts per robot. Its pitch on Monday ⁠centred on the use of "digital twins" that allow developers to test and fine-tune robot performance in the design phase. None of the announcements gave any financial details. STMicroelectronics' statement focused on sensors, helping robot developers connect cameras ⁠and motion sensors to Nvidia-based systems. NXP emphasised fast, reliable communications inside the robot, helping different parts of the machine to send data quickly to the central processor so movement and sensing ⁠remain coordinated. Gowri Chindalore, head of AI at NXP's edge computing arm, gave the example of processing part of the information derived from voice commands instantly and then directing "further communication to the brain in a very fast loop". Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Barbara Lewis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Nvidia, Infineon Expand Collaboration on Physical AI, Humanoid Robots

Infineon Technologies said it expanded its collaboration with Nvidia with a focus on physical artificial intelligence and humanoid robots. The German chip maker said late Monday that it aims to combine its technologies with Nvidia's AI, robotics and simulation platforms in order to help design and deploy humanoid robots. Infineon will also join Nvidia's AI systems inspection lab to examine the design of robust hardware and software safety foundations, it said. The two companies are looking to help developers validate designs faster, move humanoids from lab pilots into real-world operations, and scale from prototype to fleet deployment in industrial environments, the chip maker said. The news builds on the collaboration announced in August last year.