Feeling free….Drive
(or don’t drive) with abandon!
Your lucky chance is on the horizon, and the race for the future of driving is on. In fact, the opportunity is here and now for purely autonomous driving — all thanks to the Volkswagen Group. Recently, Volkswagen announced that it is opening a new unit to commercialize self-driving vans and robotaxis. The firm is creating an independent company called Volkswagen Autonomy (VWAT) and while there are still miles to go, the German automaker has not only touched the surface of what driving will look like by the middle of the next decade, but become a true leader in technological advances.
There is much to consider, to ponder and to refine when it comes to this new way of driving, and VW is more than doing its due diligence. Self-driving is essentially referring to vehicles that can drive themselves without human intervention in a pre-defined setting.
Here’s more….
Challenges to consider….
While autonomous driving is definitely on the horizon as is the development of a self-driving system capable of powering Level 4 vehicles, there is still much work to be done. To that end, there are indeed challenges associated with self driving, including reaching viable solutions for the many special cases known as “corner cases.” An example of this is motorists traveling in the wrong direction. Before a car can drive itself, it has to be able to effectively deal with unplanned oncoming traffic on the road.
This method of driving also requires a great deal of financial investment, with the Volkswagen Group committing to an investment of $2.6 billion in Argo AI, a startup specializing in autonomous-driving software. This investment is a prime reason why partnerships are being secured. This can be realized through Volkswagen company’s cooperation with Ford and Argo Al. Already Volkswagen is pushing this forward on a somewhat fast pace, focusing on the development of a self-driving system with these partners. They are also already working on the appearance and construction of suitable vehicles.
The benefits…
Self driving has clear benefits, especially in light of the stress often associated with traffic jams and overcrowded roads. With the opportunity of self driving, motorists have the choice of driving the car or delegating the task to a robot, and thus catching their breath. The car of the future has the driver in mind at all times.
Safety is always first and foremost, which is why self-driving cars must perform 100 to 1,000 times better than humans. This needs to be done before society is “on board.”
What it takes….
There is software required for this innovative way of driving, and Volkswagen is poised to be a leader in that realm. Because that software will be the “brains” of the vehicle, they must be Volkswagen company’s own expert systems to work the way they need to. By 2020, cars will independently download updates from the cloud, but VW will need to obtain the technologies for this in China or from the US West Coast if they do not have the capacity themselves. The end goal will be to establish Volkswagen Autonomy as a global technology company where experts from the automotive and technology industries are bundled. It will ultimately be a combination of agility and creativity rooted in a high-performance culture with process orientation and scalability. VW has sights set to build an agile, high-performance development team with the know how to realize a self-driving system ready to market.
The competition….
Volkswagen has thrown its hat in the ring — or better described — laid the gauntlet down to Silicon Valley on self-driving cars. With the announcement of the foundation of Volkswagen Autonomy, or VWAT, its own self-driving tech subsidiary, the first move to take on the likes of rivals such as Google’s Waymo has been made. In light of competition, Volkswagen plans by the middle of the next decade to use its start up to commercialize self-driving taxis and vans, with its first vehicles being light commercial vehicles. In the long term, the hope is that the SDS module will be integrated with all of its cars. Furthermore, plans are to expand to other continents, like China by 2021, following the initial headquarter plans for Munich.
Already blazing trails….
Driverless cars are already on today’s roads in the form of demo vehicles, with smaller fleets arriving in the near future. There is a distinction, though, between these and the large-scale deployment of production vehicles, which have to function reliably at all times. Before reaching that point, there are still a large number of technological, legal and economic issues to tackle. The plan is to start using autonomous driving for commercial purposes by the middle of the next decade. Time is of the essence, through, and Volkswagen, with the cooperation and participation of Ford and Argo Al, are focusing on the development of the self-driving system. At the same time, they are already working on the appearance and construct of suitable vehicles. They are certain to be among the few players who can succeed in industrializing autonomous driving.
Maintaining the driving experience
While self-driving seems to mean the absence of the thrill of the driving experience, in many ways, it will be even more enhanced. Those people who use their time in self-driving cars will have the opportunity to do things they cannot do today while behind the wheel. That includes such tasks as communicating with friends and family or getting their much-needed work done. The self-driving car will in essence become a place of true comfort, a private space all your own.
Volkswagen company’s announcement reflects a serious attempt to make the most of its assets as a traditional car manufacturer. It is forward-thinking at its finest. Volkswagen Autonomy’s end goal is to bring autonomous driving capabilities to VW cars, helping drivers navigate with minimal human intervention. Feeling free and driving with abandon. The time is coming!
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