Plans to give Volkswagen’s legendary Hippie Bus a comeback go back a long way.
It is 20 years since the concept car Microbus / Bulli was shown for the first time. After a while, that project was shelved, presumably because VW’s analyzes indicated that there was no large market for such a car.
The plans ended up in a drawer, and there they lay for a long time. But Volkswagen’s extensive investment in electric cars gave the model another chance. In 2017, we got to see the concept car ID.Buzz for the first time.
Now it is not long until it and the sister model ID.Buzz Cargo (which is the van version) will go into production. According to Volkswagen, it will happen next year.
Should also be self-driving
Now they have also shown the first ID. The buzz prototype for self-driving cars
It will be used in commercial services from early 2025. Starting in Hamburg that year, it will self-driving ID. Buzz AD carries passengers in a carpooling service.
Volkswagen is collaborating here with its partner Argo AI, a global company that develops self-driving technology, including maps, hardware, software and cloud solutions.
We wrote this about Microbus 11 years ago
– ID.Buzz is built on the same platform as the electric cars iD.3 and ID.4 from Volkswagen, in this way you also reduce development costs significantly.
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Suffers high on the ceiling
Argo conducts active testing in many urban areas, including Munich, with ID.Buzz AD prototypes. Argo’s self-driving system consists of a number of sensors, software and a data platform that together provide a 360-degree overview of the vehicle’s surroundings.
– Not hard to see what this hedge is related to!
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This should anticipate the movements of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles, and control the engine, brakes and steering systems, so that the car moves in a safe and natural way, as with an experienced driver.
The company’s own sensor, Argo Lidar, is located high on the roof of the prototypes, and can detect objects from a distance of more than 400 meters.
Technology can detect even the smallest light particles. Thus, objects with low reflective surfaces, such as black cars, can be detected so that the surroundings can be reproduced accurately.
This was the end of VW’s retro car
– The microbus concept was shown way back in 2001. It never got beyond the concept stage.
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Detects more than human driver
Argo also has a 90-meter closed runway near the airport in Munich, to test a number of different traffic situations related to European driving conditions, in addition to the traffic situations that occur on the test tracks in the USA.
“A system that recognizes the environment using six lidars, 11 radars and 14 cameras, distributed throughout the vehicle, can detect much more than any human driver can from his position,” explains Christian Senger, head of autonomous driving at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
It is a copy, but more rare than the original
– ID. Buzz has to offer many, smart interior solutions. This can be a dream car for families who need a lot of space.
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Electric car sharing service
At the same time as Volkswagen and Argo AI are developing the autonomous car and the self-driving system, Volkswagen’s subsidiary MOIA is the third player involved in the partnership, in order to establish an autonomous mobility service.
They have extensive experience with mobility services and fleet management.
In a very short time, MOIA has established Europe’s largest all-electric car sharing service with drivers. They have carried millions of passengers. From 2025, MOIA will be the first user of ID. Buzz AD.
Here you can read more about ID.Buzz
Watch video of VW ID.Buzz below:
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