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Volkswagen Begins Public-Road Trials of Steering-Wheel-Free Gen. Urban in Wolfsburg

The employee-only rides study passenger trust to guide future interior and UX design.

Overview

  • The autonomous research vehicle operates on an approximately 10 km city route that includes intersections, roundabouts, construction zones, residential streets and industrial areas.
  • Each trip lasts about 20 minutes with the test participant seated where a driver would normally sit.
  • A trained safety driver monitors from the passenger seat and can intervene using a joystick-equipped control panel.
  • Passengers can set temperature, ambient lighting and other preferences via an app, with artificial intelligence personalizing the digital cabin.
  • Volkswagen Group Innovation is running the multi-week program with company employees to gather user-behavior data for future concepts across the group’s brands.