Published on February 25th, 2022 📆 | 7556 Views ⚑
0Bosch, VW Group subsidiary join to develop self-driving technology for mass production
Bosch and Volkswagen Group software company Cariad have formed a partnership to develop self-driving technology that is suitable for mass production, the companies have announced.
One of the goals of the partnership is âmore rapid deployment of automated driving functions across all vehicle classes,â through a shared engineering platform that is âavailable to the broad mass of consumers,â the companies said Wednesday in a joint announcement.
The goals are to develop Level 2 systems for urban, suburban, and highway driving that allow drivers to temporarily take their hands off the steering wheel, and full Level 3 autonomy that will allow the vehicle to drive itself, with no human oversight necessary. The first Level 2 functions will arrive in 2023, the companies said.
Audi will be the first automaker to benefit from the new partnership, Dirk Hilgenberg, CEO of Cariad, said on LinkedIn.
Hilgenberg said Cariad âis becoming an end-to-end software supplier in the automated driving space. With a vertically integrated technology stack, weâll accelerate the development cycle, create a greater integration between hardware and software, and leverage our competitive advantages.â
Some Level 2 systems, such as Teslaâs Autopilot with Full Self Driving mode, General Motorsâ Super Cruise, and Fordâs BlueCruise, are already on the market.
Level 3 is a far more ambitious goal. Only Hondaâs limited-edition Legend and Mercedes-Benzâs new S-Class are allowed to operate at Level 3 in their home countries, though Automotive News reported Thursday that Mercedes-Benz is aiming to introduce the Drive Pilot technology in the United States this year.
Volkswagen currently offers hands-on-the-wheel driving assistance, called Travel Assist, as part of its IQ Drive advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) package. It uses adaptive speed control, automatic emergency braking, and lane-keeping, but is not a hands-free technology.
For partially and highly automated driving, Bosch and Cariad will jointly develop âa state-of-the-art, standardized software platformâ that can be used in all passenger vehicles made by the Volkswagen Group. Bosch said the platform will be made available to other OEMs, too.
The project will make use of information gathered from Volkswagen Group vehicles, the company said. âThe best proving ground for the development of automated driving is road traffic,â said Mathias Pillin, president of Boschâs Cross-Domain Computing Solutions branch.
According to Hilgenberg, the guiding principles of the project are safety, in-house development, integration of vehicle technologies, and rapid development of knowledge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_8IeJECb70
Bosch and Cariad âhave got what it takes to make increasingly automated driving a common sight on our roads: they have decades of experience in the volume production, scalability, and approval of driving systems, as well as expertise in the areas of software, data-driven development, and artificial intelligence,â the companies said in their announcement.
Bosch has long been working on automated driving, according to Markus Heyn, a member of the Bosch board of management. âTogether with Cariad, we will now be accelerating the market launch of partially and highly automated driving functions across all vehicle classes, and thus making them available for everyone. This will make driving on the roads safer and more relaxed,â he said in a statement.
Teams of engineers from both companies will work together at various locations to develop the technology. The companies will be focused on developing data-driven software that makes use of â360-degree surround sensing,â though the joint announcement did not address specific sensors, such as lidar, cameras, or radar.
The work will be carried out in âa highly innovative development environmentâ created to record, evaluate, and process data with the use of artificial intelligence (AI), the companies said.
âThe idea behind this is a simple one. The more extensive the pool of data from real road traffic, the more robust and natural the design of the partially and highly automated driving functions can be,â the companies said.
âAutomated driving is key to the future of our industry. With our cooperation, weâll strengthen Germanyâs reputation for innovativeness. Bosch and Cariad will further enhance their expertise in the development of pioneering technologies,â Hilgenberg said in a statement. âThis underscores our ambition to deliver the best possible solutions to our customers as soon as possible.â
âWith the help of one of the worldâs biggest connected vehicle fleets, we will gain access to a huge database. This will allow us to take automated driving systems to a new level. All our customers will be able to benefit from this,â Pillin said.
âTogether, we can test automated driving functions on a broader scale in actual vehicles and implement them more quickly. Our engineering work will be done jointly, with Bosch and Cariad as one team. There has never been an alliance like this in the automotive industry,â said Ingo StĂźrmer, the allianceâs project director at Cariad.
More information
âAutomated driving: Bosch and Volkswagen Group subsidiary Cariad agree on extensive partnershipâ
https://us.bosch-press.com/pressportal/us/en/press-release-16640.html
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Featured image provided by Cariad
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