Welcome to the NVIDIA® DriveWorks SDK Reference.
The NVIDIA® DriveWorks Software Development Kit (SDK) enables developers to implement autonomous vehicle (AV) solutions by providing a comprehensive library of modules, developer tools, and reference applications that take advantage of the computing power of the NVIDIA DRIVE™ platform.
- Note
- This DriveWorks SDK release may only be used for test and development.
The following diagram describes the DriveWorks SDK. Click on different points to jump to specific sections.
The DriveWorks SDK is designed to achieve the full throughput limits of the computer, enabling real-time self-driving applications. This requires careful architecture of the end-to-end software pipeline to do the following:
- Efficiently utilize the many processors inside the NVIDIA DRIVE® platform.
- Optimize data communication formats between hardware engines.
- Minimize data copies (zero copy exchange of buffers).
- Implement and utilize the most efficient algorithms.
The DriveWorks SDK design philosophy is modular, optimized, and flexible. You can use it out of the box, or enhance it with your own code to create your own AV solution.
The modularity of the DriveWorks SDK enables it to be released through two mechanisms:
- NVIDIA DriveWorks Releases: Includes middleware for sensor integration, data recording, image processing, and much more.
- NVIDIA DRIVE Software Releases: Includes all of the capabilities provided in each DriveWorks release plus additional modules, samples, and tools for advanced Perception, Mapping, and Planning software development.
Please refer to the table below for further details. This Reference Guide indicates which release a particular topic pertains within each section.
| Included Modules | DriveWorks Releases | DRIVE Software Releases |
|---|---|---|
| Core | Y | Y |
| Sensor Abstraction Layer (SAL) | Y | Y |
| Vehicle and Motion Actuation | Y | Y |
| Image Processing | Y | Y |
| Point Cloud Processing | Y | Y |
| Deep Neural Network (DNN) Framework | Y | Y |
| Calibration | Y | Y |
| Communication | Y | Y |
| Utility | Y | Y |
| Perception | N | Y |
| Mapping | N | Y |
| Planning | N | Y |