Prices for banned Nvidia AI chips have doubled on China's black market. The surge reflects high demand for advanced semiconductors despite trade restrictions.

The price increase highlights the challenges in enforcing export controls on high-tech hardware. Nvidia's AI chips remain in high demand for their performance capabilities.

Market Impact

The doubling of prices underscores the significant demand for Nvidia's technology in China. This trend persists despite regulatory barriers aimed at limiting access to advanced AI hardware.

NVIDIA today announced NVIDIA Halos for Robotics, the industry’s first full-stack, comprehensive safety system for robotics and physical AI that unifies AI compute and safety. The announcement was made at Automate in Chicago. The system is designed to provide a standardized, unified safety architecture that connects AI compute, system software, sensor data, safety applications and inspection for robotic systems operating in dynamic environments alongside humans.

The new system extends NVIDIA Halos’ proven autonomous vehicle safety to robotics and physical AI. It draws on 18,600+ engineering years of autonomous vehicle safety development. The architecture enables companies to scale autonomous systems into factories, warehouses and logistics operations with greater confidence.

System Architecture and Components

NVIDIA Halos for Robotics spans three key layers needed for robot safety. The hardware layer includes NVIDIA IGX Thor and NVIDIA Holoscan Sensor Bridge, which provide industrial-grade AI compute, built-in safety and sensor connectivity for real-time workloads. The software layer features NVIDIA Halos OS, which includes Halos Core to support safety-related operating functions and safety applications built with the NVIDIA Halos Outside-In Safety Blueprint.

The inspection layer consists of the NVIDIA Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab. This lab is the world’s first ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB)-accredited program for functional and AI safety for physical AI. It helps partners prepare Halos integrations for third-party certification by leading certification bodies including TÜV Rheinland, UL Solutions, TÜV SÜD, exida, SGS and CertX.

Partnership with Agility

Agility, a humanoid robotics and physical AI company, is the first to team with NVIDIA to incorporate elements of Halos for Robotics into its proprietary safety system. Agility will integrate NVIDIA IGX Thor and Halos Core into its safe human detection system for its humanoid robot Digit. Digit is designed for industrial work in logistics, manufacturing and warehouse operations for customers including Amazon, GXO, Schaeffler and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada.

Agility will also participate in the NVIDIA Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab. The companies will use the lab to ensure Digit’s safety-related software, AI components and cybersecurity protections meet rigorous standards such as IEC 61508, ISO 13849 and ISO/IEC TR 5469 before final third-party certification.

Ecosystem and Availability

The NVIDIA Halos for Robotics ecosystem includes partners across software, systems, sensors and silicon. Software partners include Acontis, FreeRTOS and QNX. Embedded systems partners include Advantech and NexCobot. Sensors and silicon partners include Infineon, NXP Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments. Industrial applications partners include FORT Robotics, Inventec, KION Group, Lyte AI and Neurealm.

NVIDIA Halos Core for NVIDIA IGX is available in early access for registered developers in Linux and Linux plus QNX OS for Safety 8.0 configurations. The open source NVIDIA Halos Outside-In Safety Blueprint is now available in early access on GitHub.