A lot has been happening at the Volkswagen Electric Research Laboratory (ERL); they have been busy developing technology may revolutionalise driving experience in a VW car. Cars with the ability to self-drive and self-park have been developed, and are now in the later stages of testing. Not only these, there is a whole lot more going on at the lab. We list them:
Traffic Jam Pilot
The Traffic Jam Pilot was previewed in an A7 concept car, and word is that it will make its way to the next-gen A8 production model in 2016. This tech takes complete control of the car at speeds up to 64kph in traffic jams, when the system is activated. It has already been tested by VW for thousands of kilometers on US roads.
The Traffic Jam Pilot uses laser sensors, laser scanners, stereo cameras and ultrasonic cameras. ERL’s head of driver assistance systems, Jörg Schlinkheider, says that this is a scalable piece of technology that can be used on the entry level VW Golf to a range topping Audi A8. He also adds that the use of HD maps is important beyond the car's cameras and sensors, because the car needs to know what lies beyond a corner if it can't see and adapt accordingly.
Autonomous Parking
This is also likely to make an appearance by 2016, and allows the car to park itself into a suitable space once it has been found. The system connects with the driver's smartphone, allowing him to instantly abort the manoeuvre if a danger is detected. With this tech onboard, cars can park themselves into tight spaces with just about 20cm on each side.
Steering wheel mounted touchpads
This piece of technology is still in its initial stages. Touchpads are mounted on either sides of the steering wheel and allow the driver to input commands using their thumbs. Although this is being developed keeping the global markets in mind, it is easier to use these touchpads in English and Western European alphabet.
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
Lenny D'sa
Dipan Sur
Glenn Noronha
