US semiconductor giant Nvidia says it will provide AI technology to support the development of autonomous driving and robots free of charge.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made the announcement on Monday, the day before the opening of the CES tech trade show in Las Vegas.

The executive said the technology allows artificial intelligence to effectively learn physical dynamics, such as gravity and crashes, through simulated environments.

Huang said there will be no need for real tests, such as moving robots in a warehouse and operating cars on roads, which will cut costs greatly.

Huang argued that many things will be possible by developing AI that understands the physical world.

Nvidia also said it will provide Toyota with chips to develop next-generation auto technologies, including driverless driving, as well as software to operate vehicles.