About nine months ago, self-driving car company Argo AI was shut down. Argo, which had been backed by Ford and Volkswagen, let go of about 78 people in Austin at the time. But now Volkswagen says it's bringing some of those employees back onboard for its new self-driving project, which will be tested here in Austin.
VW said about 10 of its retro-looking ID Buzz electric vans will be deployed across the city, largely in the downtown area, by the end of the year. The test run is under the banner of its subsidiary Volkswagen ADMT. The vans utilize autonomous driving systems, developed in coordination with Mobileye, KXAN reported.
Austin is one of just a few U.S. cities that have frequently been selected for autonomous vehicle testing.
The first ever fully autonomous car ride happened on the streets of North Austin in 2015, according to Waymo, a company Alphabet created to lead lead its self-driving car business. Subsequently, Ford and Argo AI hatched big plans for robotaxis. More recently, GM's self-driving brand Cruise brought its Origin robotaxis to Austin.
“We are excited and ready to roll out our autonomous pilot and test fleet in Austin," Katrin Lohmann, president of Volkswagen ADMT LLC, stated. “We selected Austin as the first U.S. hub, as the city has a track record for embracing innovation and offers a conducive climate for the testing of autonomous vehicles. We are committed to continuing an open and collaborative dialogue with the city and its diverse stakeholders.”
Austin is VW’s first U.S. self-driving testing hub for the ID Buzz. Lohmann told CNBC the company is expected to extend its testing operations into as little as four more U.S. cities over the next three-year period.
Like previous self-driving tests by Waymo and other companies, VW's vehicles will initially have human drivers at the ready.
It may be a while before you can just hop in a driverless VW van in Austin. The company said it plans to launch commercial services in Austin by 2026. And, even then, the company isn't planning a taxi service. It said its fleet of vans will be used in long-term partnerships with other companies.
VW's Buzz AD vans will collect data as they drive Austin streets and encounter new movements and landscapes. The vans will have an autonomous driving technology platform created by Volkswagen Group in partnership with Israel-based Mobileye. That includes cameras, radar, and lidar technology.
“Moving into this next phase will help us test, validate and refine technology, bring us closer to establishing commercially available transportation offerings and eventually grow the diverse mobility portfolio for the Volkswagen Group," Christian Senger, member of the board of management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, stated.
