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AD&P; ∕ JUNE 2017
SEDRIC
aerodynamic enhancements—to say nothing of the fact that it
helps make this minibus look futuristically cool—it appears
this is going to be a comparatively low-speed vehicle, so it
may be that this is more show than go.
The vehicle is equipped with an array of sensors, from
LiDAR to radar to ultrasonics. It also makes use of digital map
information. (Müller pointed out that Volkswagen is working
with companies including Mobileye and NVIDIA; it is part
owner of the mapping company HERE.)
Müller said that they can foresee Sedric as both a shared
vehicle for ride-hailing applications as well as a vehicle that
would be privately owned.
But it is, of course, a concept. He pointed out that this is the
first-ever concept from Volkswagen Group—it is not a concept
from Audi or Bentley or Porsche or SEAT or Skoda or Bugatti
or Lamborghini or, well, VW. Still, he emphasized the work
that Audi and VW have been doing over the past several years
in developing autonomous driving capabilities, whether it
The seat material is birch leather. There is an emphasis
on natural materials on the inside, even though
Sedric is a technologically advanced vehicle.
was a Touareg-based vehicle winning the 2005 DARPA Grand
Challenge or an Audi A7 driving—autonomously—from San
Francisco to Las Vegas in 2015.
Müller acknowledged that the road to autonomous vehicles
is not exactly a straight one that is technology-based alone.
There are legal and political issues that need to be addressed
before people are pushing their OneButtons. What's more,
there are even ethical concerns. Müller: "Algorithms don't
have a moral compass."
But be that as it may, it is clear that Volkswagen Group is
devoting a tremendous amount of resources on developing
vehicles for the future.
And for those who are somewhat unsettled by the notion
of driverless electrically powered vehicles, know that Müller,
who said the Group is investing several billion euros into
the development of such technologies, also said that they
anticipate conventional internal combustion engine-powered
cars will continue for "at least" two decades.
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