Page 11 - Commercial Vehicle Engineer - June 2021

NEWS
VOLKSWAGEN BEGINS TESTING AUTONOMOUS VAN
Volkswagen will start For the integration of the
testing prototypes of its autonomous ID. BUZZ van in
Munich this summer, the company has announced. The ID. Buzz has Level 4
autonomous capacity, which means that a driver will still be present in the cab but has little input into driving.
“Our aim with the self-driving version of the ID. BUZZ is to facilitate commercial deployment of transport and delivery services starting in 2025”, explained divisional director Christian Senger. “In select cities, customers will be able to have a self-
driving vehicle take them to their destination. The delivery of goods and packages will also be made much easier through our autonomous driving service.”
technology into the all-electric ID. BUZZ AD, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has founded a dedicated business section and partnered
with Argo AI, the US-headquartered autonomous vehicle technology platform company that is developing the self-driving system.
Earlier this year, Argo integrated
its self-driving system with a Volkswagen vehicle prototype to begin testing in Germany. Bryan Salesky, Founder and CEO, Argo AI. “We are excited to begin testing our self-driving system on European roads later this year, building on the initial work we’re doing now at a new test track we established next to the Munich airport.”
Volkswagen and Argo AI regard the use of a combination of sensors
– including lidar, radar and cameras – essential for safe autonomous driving
“We are excited to begin testing our self-driving system on European roads later this year”
capability. Argo AI recently unveiled its new lidar sensor, Argo Lidar, which allows it to see objects from 400 meters away. Argo AI’s proprietary Geiger-mode lidar has the ability to detect the smallest particle of light
— a single photon — which is key to sensing objects with low reflectivity. “This technology will be integrated in the self-driving system of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ autonomous driving vehicles," Salesky said.
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > JUNE 2021 11