At the IAA Mobility 2021 show Volkswagen truly shined as it unveiled the first of five self-driving test vehicles of the fully electric ID. family, the ID. BUZZ AD.
The series versions of the ID. BUZZ for the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles division will be deployed in commercial mobility services such as MOIA (a subsidiary of the VW group) beginning in 2025.
The German group will also partner up with Argo AI, the global autonomous driving technology company, to develop the self-driving system (SDS), including maps, hardware, software, and cloud-support infrastructure that powers the ID. BUZZ AD.
Argo is actively testing in many urban areas, including Munich with the van prototypes. The company’s self-driving system comprises a suite of sensors, software, and the computer platforms to provide a 360-degree awareness of the vehicle’s environment, predict the actions of pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles, and direct the engine, braking, and steering systems so that the vehicle moves safely and naturally, like an experienced driver.
Argo AI uses cameras, radar, and lidar to achieve safe self-driving. The company’s proprietary sensor Argo Lidar sits high on the roof of the ID. BUZZ prototypes and can detect objects from more than 400 meters. Its patented Geiger-mode technology can detect even the smallest particles of light, so that even objects with low reflectivity, like black-painted vehicles, can be detected and thus very precise representations of the environment are possible.
With its plans for the development of autonomous driving services, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles showed in the IAA environment how inner-city traffic can be relieved by ride pooling and, at the same time, it’s safer thanks to the self-driving system, according to Christian Senger, Head of Autonomous Driving at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
“An environment recognition system from six lidar, eleven radar and fourteen cameras, distributed over the entire vehicle, can capture much more than any human driver can from his seat,” he said.
While Volkswagen and Argo AI are developing the autonomous vehicle and the self-driving system, MOIA is the third component for an autonomous mobility service. The Volkswagen subsidiary has extensive experience in the field of mobility services and fleet management. Within a very short time, MOIA has set up Europe's largest, all-electric ride pooling service with drivers. It has transported millions of passengers. As of 2025 MOIA will be the first user of the ID.BUZZ AD.