VW ramps up R&D on autonomous driving vehicles

In case you haven't noticed VW is aggressively positioning itself as a premier electrified vehicle proponent with the recent release of its I.D.4 EV. The company is also doubling-down on autonomous driving technology, which goes hand in hand with smart and zero-emissions platforms. The Autonomous Driving Component will be first seen in commercial vehicles, however, rather than consumer cars and SUVs.

“With the confirmation of the group’s supervisory board for our Autonomous Driving R&D program, we are setting the course for the future of mobility. Autonomous, electric driving will make an important contribution to urban mobility and road safety. Our vehicles are the logical first choice to apply such systems to", explains Carsten Intra, CEO of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, after today's Supervisory Board meeting of the Volkswagen Group.

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Waymo starts offering self-driving minivans for Lyft riders

If you find yourself in Waymo’s Phoenix, Arizona testing zone, you might be able to get a self-driving Lyft ride. The autonomous driving subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet launched its tie-in with ride-hailing service Lyft. Less than 10 self-driving minivans are roaming the streets of Phoenix and picking up Lyft riders who opt-in with the program. According to TechCrunch, Waymo plans to introduce 10 cars in the testing zone but it “isn’t there yet.” While not a lot of people will get to use the service, those who decide to be part of the testing can choose to use the Waymo minivan or a traditional Lyft ride.

This partnership doesn’t mean Waymo isn’t working on its own projects. The company still has its own commercial autonomous ride-hailing service called Waymo One. Earlier this month, Waymo struck a deal with Nissan and Renault to help build self-driving vehicles for those automakers.

Apple acquires self-driving car startup Drive.ai

Kaveh Waddell/Axios

Apple’s latest purchase can be considered more as an acqui-hire. The company just bought Mountain View-based autonomous driving startup Drive.ai. They’ve hired dozens of the company’s engineers and Drive.ai has ceased all operations throughout the last few weeks. Rumours of Apple buying Drive.ai was going around earlier this month, suggesting that the company wanted to boost the development of its own self-driving vehicle system. And from the looks of it, Apple is looking at the company so it could bring in its employees.

Drive.ai was founded back in 2015 by a group of Stanford University students who wanted to introduce a self-driving shuttle service in select cities in Texas. But the company ran into problems and sought out a buyer, which we now know is Apple. Axios didn’t say how much Apple bought Drive.ai for, but the company took on the new hires into its engineering and product design divisions. The move confirms that Apple is still working on its Apple Car project, despite laying off 190 employees from its self-driving car division as part of a restructuring effort.

Volkswagen showcases ID Roomzz concept at Shanghai Auto Show

We saw the teaser earlier this month but now we get a closer look at Volkswagen’s new electric car concept. The ID Roomzz expands the automaker’s electric car lineup into the full-size SUV territory. This concept is a three-row SUV that will be heading into production in 2021. VW has only committed to bringing this to China so far. Style-wise it looks similar to the smaller Crozz. It has 301hp dual motors and it has a range of 280 miles and goes from 0-62mph in 6.6 seconds.

The ID Roomzz is designed with autonomous driving in mind and includes Level 4 autonomy (which is full self-driving in most conditions). The seats can recline and turn 25 degrees inward to create a “lounge-like” atmosphere when you let it take the will. The traditional dash is replaced by an all-glass panel with a giant infotainment display in the center. There are “interactive light zones” that show the info to everyone inside. We doubt this will make the initial production model, but it at least shows us where VW wants to take this tech.

Source: Engadget