diff --git a/pkg/collector/gpu/hardware.go b/pkg/collector/gpu/hardware.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..18988e020
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/collector/gpu/hardware.go
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package gpu
+
+import "context"
+
+// HardwareDetector abstracts GPU hardware detection for testability.
+// Implementations enumerate PCI devices and kernel module state without
+// requiring GPU drivers to be installed.
+type HardwareDetector interface {
+	// Detect discovers GPU hardware and driver module state.
+	// Returns HardwareInfo describing what was found, or an error if
+	// detection could not be performed (e.g., sysfs not available).
+	Detect(ctx context.Context) (*HardwareInfo, error)
+}
+
+// HardwareInfo describes the GPU hardware state detected without drivers.
+type HardwareInfo struct {
+	// GPUPresent is true if at least one NVIDIA GPU was found via PCI enumeration.
+	GPUPresent bool
+
+	// GPUCount is the number of NVIDIA GPUs detected via PCI enumeration.
+	GPUCount int
+
+	// DriverLoaded is true if the nvidia kernel module is currently loaded.
+	DriverLoaded bool
+
+	// DetectionSource identifies which detection method produced this result
+	// (e.g., "nfd", "sysfs").
+	DetectionSource string
+}
diff --git a/pkg/collector/gpu/hardware_test.go b/pkg/collector/gpu/hardware_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..94dcec7de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/collector/gpu/hardware_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package gpu
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/NVIDIA/aicr/pkg/errors"
+)
+
+// mockHardwareDetector is a test double for the HardwareDetector interface.
+type mockHardwareDetector struct {
+	info *HardwareInfo
+	err  error
+}
+
+func (m *mockHardwareDetector) Detect(_ context.Context) (*HardwareInfo, error) {
+	return m.info, m.err
+}
+
+func TestHardwareDetectorInterface(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name        string
+		detector    HardwareDetector
+		wantPresent bool
+		wantCount   int
+		wantDriver  bool
+		wantDetSrc  string
+		wantErr     bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "GPU present with driver",
+			detector: &mockHardwareDetector{
+				info: &HardwareInfo{
+					GPUPresent:      true,
+					GPUCount:        2,
+					DriverLoaded:    true,
+					DetectionSource: "nfd",
+				},
+			},
+			wantPresent: true,
+			wantCount:   2,
+			wantDriver:  true,
+			wantDetSrc:  "nfd",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "no GPU hardware",
+			detector: &mockHardwareDetector{
+				info: &HardwareInfo{
+					GPUPresent:      false,
+					GPUCount:        0,
+					DriverLoaded:    false,
+					DetectionSource: "nfd",
+				},
+			},
+			wantPresent: false,
+			wantCount:   0,
+			wantDriver:  false,
+			wantDetSrc:  "nfd",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "detection failure",
+			detector: &mockHardwareDetector{
+				info: nil,
+				err:  errors.New(errors.ErrCodeInternal, "sysfs not available"),
+			},
+			wantErr: true,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			info, err := tt.detector.Detect(context.Background())
+			if (err != nil) != tt.wantErr {
+				t.Errorf("Detect() error = %v, wantErr %v", err, tt.wantErr)
+				return
+			}
+			if err != nil {
+				return // error expected and received; skip field assertions
+			}
+			if info.GPUPresent != tt.wantPresent {
+				t.Errorf("GPUPresent = %v, want %v", info.GPUPresent, tt.wantPresent)
+			}
+			if info.GPUCount != tt.wantCount {
+				t.Errorf("GPUCount = %v, want %v", info.GPUCount, tt.wantCount)
+			}
+			if info.DriverLoaded != tt.wantDriver {
+				t.Errorf("DriverLoaded = %v, want %v", info.DriverLoaded, tt.wantDriver)
+			}
+			if info.DetectionSource != tt.wantDetSrc {
+				t.Errorf("DetectionSource = %v, want %v", info.DetectionSource, tt.wantDetSrc)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/defaults/timeouts.go b/pkg/defaults/timeouts.go
index 3ed90afdb..940e64abc 100644
--- a/pkg/defaults/timeouts.go
+++ b/pkg/defaults/timeouts.go
@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ const (
 	// CollectorK8sTimeout is the timeout for Kubernetes API calls in collectors.
 	// Covers 6 sequential sub-collectors (server, image, policy, node, helm, argocd).
 	CollectorK8sTimeout = 60 * time.Second
+
+	// NFDDetectionTimeout is the timeout for NFD-based hardware detection.
+	// PCI enumeration and kernel module listing are fast local operations
+	// reading from sysfs/procfs, so a short timeout is sufficient.
+	NFDDetectionTimeout = 5 * time.Second
 )
 
 // Node topology collector constants.
diff --git a/pkg/defaults/timeouts_test.go b/pkg/defaults/timeouts_test.go
index cbfe59d82..367207c29 100644
--- a/pkg/defaults/timeouts_test.go
+++ b/pkg/defaults/timeouts_test.go
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ func TestTimeoutConstants(t *testing.T) {
 		// Collector timeouts
 		{"CollectorTimeout", CollectorTimeout, 5 * time.Second, 30 * time.Second},
 		{"CollectorK8sTimeout", CollectorK8sTimeout, 30 * time.Second, 120 * time.Second},
+		{"NFDDetectionTimeout", NFDDetectionTimeout, 1 * time.Second, 15 * time.Second},
 		{"CollectorTopologyTimeout", CollectorTopologyTimeout, 60 * time.Second, 180 * time.Second},
 
 		// Handler timeouts
diff --git a/pkg/measurement/types.go b/pkg/measurement/types.go
index 45b78d34a..2e1a705a6 100644
--- a/pkg/measurement/types.go
+++ b/pkg/measurement/types.go
@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@ const (
 	KeyGPUDriver = "driver"
 	KeyGPUModel  = "model"
 	KeyGPUCount  = "gpu-count"
+
+	// GPU hardware detection keys (NFD-based, no driver required)
+	KeyGPUPresent         = "gpu-present"
+	KeyGPUDriverLoaded    = "driver-loaded"
+	KeyGPUDetectionSource = "detection-source"
 )
 
 // Internal measurement keys used only within this package.