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Volkswagen will tap into Microsoft’s cloud computing for developing self-driving software

Volkswagen dropped the hint of developing self-driving software in the future when the company decided to use Microsoft’s Azure software back in 2018. The two companies made a deal three years ago that Volkswagen will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service and link it to the cars. And, from the announcement made on 11th February 2021, the software updates will be developed in this cloud from where they will be directly downloaded in the cars.

The technology behind developing self-driving cars has been a hot topic for quite some time now. Yesterday’s announcement was all about making it public that Microsoft’s cloud computing service will be used to streamline the software development updates for self-driving cars.

Volkswagen Position in the Automobile Industry

The two brands Audi and Porsche that are owned by Volkswagen are working on developing self-driving cars. Though these brands are under the same parent company, they are working independently to give their brands an exclusive presence. Self-driving cars are the future of the automobile industry and that future is not very far. Both Audi and Porsche are working on self-assisting driving features like adaptive cruise control. But these features will not be designed for every self-driving model of the companies.

In an effort to make the designing process smooth, Volkswagen brought all these development efforts together into a subsidiary last year. The name of the subsidiary is Car. Software and this was an initiative taken by the company to establish proper coordination among all the makers. Though each company was responsible for handling its own work, design, and visual prototype, all of them needed to work on some features together as they were common for all cars, for example, obstacle detection. All these groups in spite of working within a common group used different systems for developing the software for self-driving cars.

So finally, the company decided to put all the updates on a common cloud server, and hence the deal was announced yesterday in collaboration with Microsoft. This information was given to Reuters by Dirk Hilgenberg, Chief Executive of Car. Software. Every brand will have an opportunity to examine the work of others and modify their software accordingly.

Work to be done

The deal between Microsoft and Volkwagen also included deploying software updates to the car so that any new feature can be instantly downloaded into the care system. This is one such practice that helped Tesla to move far ahead of the competition and ahead of time as well. Along with mentioning the reason why Volkswagen decided to update all new features in one place, Dirk also mentioned that “over-the-air updates are paramount: without which the company might lose the firm ground in the self-driving automobile field.

The main objective behind this entire practice of software updates for self-driving cars is that today you are hitting the road with a car with little self-driving assistance in it. But, subsequently, new features will come along and in no time you will be able to access them thus taking you one step towards a more flexible world of autonomous driving. In response to this new deal, Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President of Cloud and Artificial Intelligence at Microsoft, said that. “That ability to start to program the vehicle in richer and richer ways, and in a safe way, transforms how the experience works.” while explaining how to receive updates in our mobile phones within very short intervals.

How Self-driving cars will change the future?

The main theory behind building a self-driving car is to design sensors that can track all objects around the car and embedding the technology on how to react if it is about to bump into one. But, it is easier said than done. The idea of self-driving technology is keeping almost every leading car company out there. But, with the pace of advancement taking place, the ones who won’t be able to keep up with this drastic change will face severe business problems. At the same time, experts predict that with the amount of brainstorming put into developing self-driving car technology, the next decade might bring enormous opportunities for automakers and technology developers. Evolution is the only means to survive whether they are mankind or machines.

Annasha

Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more

FORD-VW autonomous and electric vehicles

Ford-Volkswagen Alliance will Now Focus on Development of Autonomous and Electric Vehicles

January this year, the two major automobile companies, Ford and VolksWagan, joined their forces to manufacture pickup trucks and vans, and now almost seven months later, the two wants to expand their partnership by adding a few more services in their list that they will be developing together. The two companies have confirmed that they will now be working together to build autonomous and electric vehicles.

In the past few years, many of the major automobile companies have shifted their focus to autonomous and driver-less cars. Those companies have realised the scope of such vehicles and are investing a lot of money in the field.

In fact, Ford is already working towards developing autonomous taxis and has partnered with Argo AI, a self-driving-car developer. Noticeably, Ford announced in 2017 that it will be investing over a billion dollar in the startup (Argo AI) in the coming five years, in order to bring its own autonomous and electric vehicles on the roads.

According to the reports, under the deal between Ford and VW, the latter will also be putting a huge sum of $2.6 billion in Argo AI, as the startup will be playing a significant part in the development work. VW will be paying a $1 billion in cash and the rest of the sum will be paid in the form of assets. The VolksWagso’s Munich-based Autonomous Intelligent Driving team will be joining Argo AI for the development work as one of the assets.

Argo AI is an independent company that has been developing autonomous and electric vehicles for the cities with well-marked roads and which are properly geo-fenced. The company has successfully tested its driver-less vehicles in five U.S. cities, including Pittsburgh, Palo Alto, Detroit, Miami and Washington, D.C.

“Ford and VW will remain ‘independent and fiercely competitive’ in the marketplace. Unlocking the synergies across a range of areas allows us to showcase the power of our global alliance in this era of smart vehicles for a smart world.” the CEO Ford Motor Company, Jim Hackett, said in a statement.

The reports say that with the deal, Ford will get the access to VW’s electric-vehicle MEB platform. The company plans to launch over 60000 self-driving cars, based on the MEB architecture, in a span of six years in the various cities in Europe and will start the mass production from 2023.

Though the companies will be building their own self-driving and autonomous cars on their own, the two will be using the same software and architecture for the development work. The collaboration between the two will help both in speeding up the development and will push the governments to add their support in such projects.

Yashica Vashishtha

Yashica is a Software Engineer turned Content Writer, who loves to write on social causes and expertise in writing technical stuff. She loves to watch movies and explore new places. She believes that you need to live once before you die. So experimenting with her life and career choices, she is trying to live her life to the fullest.

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Volkswagen: A Startling Story of Success in the History of Automotive Industry

Founder, start-up, Story, Tech Story / By Annasha

Who doesn’t want to have a fancy lavish car and ride it all around the city? Even a 5-year-old kid drools over the cover page of his favourite car magazine and dreams of having one of those someday. And one such company that has made people go crazy with its classic designs and impressive capabilities is none other than Volkswagen.

Volkswagen is a huge German based automobile industry founded on 28th May 1937 by the German Labour Front. The company has its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany and currently Dr Herbert Diess is the chairman of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand. Volkswagen is the German meaning for “people’s car”.

Volkswagen: A Walk Down to the Historic Lane

The Early Phase

During Hitler’s reign, especially in the 1930s, Hitler put forward ideas and scheme, so that every German could drive their own car. Under one of those schemes, the German Labour Front started making various prototypes of such cars (“KdF-Wagen”), and Volkswagen was one of them. The company was first established in the name of “Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH” in 1937 and was renamed as “Volkswagenwerk GmbH” on 16th September 1938.

The vehicles that were produced in the plant, during early 1938, were designed by Ferdinand Porsche. In May 1938, a new plant was built in Wolfsburg, which shortly after manufacturing a handful of cars, started making military vehicles due to the war (Second World War). A lot of prisoners were forced to work at the plant during the war, which included prisoners even from concentration camps. This led to the filing of a lawsuit against the company in 1998 for compensation for the forced labours. So, in September 1998, a fund was built by Volkswagen AG to reimburse the compelled workers.

During the period of post-war, in June 1945, the charge of the company was handed over to the British Military Government, where Major Ivan Hirst took the responsibility of management. He was the prime person behind the existence of the company post-war, followed by mass production of Volkswagen Beetle. Not a single person expected the company to stand on its own, especially after the factory was bombed and captured by Americans.

In 1948 Heinrich Nordhoff was recruited to run the plant, and in 1949, Hirst left the company. After Type 1 (“Beetle” sedan), the production of Type 2 started in 8th March 1950. Soon, there was an increasing demand for “VW Bully” (The Volkswagen Bus), and in 1956 a separate manufacturing unit was built in Hanover for the production of the Transporter.

The Intermediate Phase

In 1961, the company introduced 4 new Type 3 models, and in 1969, Type 4 models were introduced. The latter came with much-modified technology, which included automatic transmission, electronic fuel injection, sturdier power plant and many more. On February 1972, Volkswagen broke the record of world car production, and the Beetle outweighed the popularity achieved by a model commonly known as “Tin Lizzy” by Ford. In 1973, Volkswagen Passat came into the market, followed by Volkswagen Scirocco, in 1974.

In 1974, the Volkswagen Golf was introduced, which set a legendary mark as a turning point of the future of Volkswagen. It was followed by Volkswagen Polo, in 1975, and since then, the company gave some serious competition in the automotive industry.

In June 1983, the company started producing the second generation of Volkswagen Golf, and it was the first time robots were placed in the manufacturing of vehicles. In the next decade, the world witnessed the second generation of Passat, Scirocco and Polo, which increased the production of the company on a very large scale.

In 1994, Concept One was launched, which had a retro theme and was a blend of Polo and Beetle. In 1999, the company hit another major success when they introduced Lupo 3L TDI in the market. This car consumed only 3 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, and hence, became the world’s most efficient car.

The Modern Phase

After Bernd Pischetsrieder became the CEO of Volkswagen Group, many new models were introduced. In 2002, the production of Touareg, a luxury car marked a totally different segment of the company in the market. In 2003, the fifth generation of golf was launched, and since then, a lot of modified version of existing models were produced with an excellent change in design engineering.

In 2018, Volkswagen announced that they would stop the production of Beetle by 2019, the car that brought dynamic changes to the fate of this company. The company said that it would like to grow to keep the same pace with modern technologies, and hence, would introduce electric cars in future.

In 2019, they also announced to launch a Jetta sub-brand in association with FAW Group Corporation. Currently, China is responsible for the company’s 40% sales and is the biggest market for Volkswagen.

Awards: A Few From the Ample

• Volkswagen was awarded European Car of the Year award thrice till date.

• It has been awarded five times in the United States Motor Trend Car of the Year award.

• The Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle was named as the fourth most influential car in the 20th century.

• It has been awarded four times with the World Car of the Year Award.

When companies rejected to take over the plant during the post-war period, the company rebuilt itself and surpassed all the efficient ones. Thus, from collapsing into the grounds to making all the way to the top, Volkswagen is indeed a story of real success the world has ever witnessed.

Annasha

Volkswagen Unveils MEB Platform Electric Vehicles at the AAI Event 2018

News, Product, Tech News / By Yashica Vashishtha

Volkwagen-ID-Buzz-Cargo — Image Source: express.co.uk

Volkswagen has got into the electric vehicles production to promote the ‘Electric for all’ motto, with its MEB (Modular Electric Drive Kit) platform launch this week. Volkswagen unveiled its series of the all-electric commercial vehicle at the 67th IAA Commercial Vehicles show, in Hannover. The main attraction of this launch was the new I.D. BUZZ CARGO.

The I.D. BUZZ is the joint venture of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen Passenger Cars. The two-toned cargo micro bus gives a retro feel as it is the look-alike of the micro-buses of 60’s. The I.D. BUZZ is manufactured on the Volkswagon’s MEB platform, that is designed to support a variety of battery sizes, according to the purpose and the budget of the vehicle. The different battery size support makes the micro bus run for 330 to 500 km, in one go, when the battery is fully charged.

The I.D. BUZZ is capable of carrying a payload of 800 kg. The vehicle is almost 5 meters long, 2 meters wide and 2 meters high. The windows from the back of the driver seat have been dropped this time and the vehicle is having a solar roof and wide-opening doors, at its back. There is only three seats in the I.D. BUZZ, the one for the driver, and two for the passengers. The passenger seats can be folded to make more space for the cargo. It has shelves inside the backspace of the vehicle and the driver’s door, as well as the sliding door, opens electrically.

Many manufacturers are venturing into production of electric vehicles, and Volkswagen had also launched its first all-electric, a panel van, e-Crafter, back in August. At the AAI 2018, Volkswagen also added other vehicles to the electric vehicle family, including the ABT e-Transporter, ABT e-Caddy and Cargo e-bike. Volkswagen has designed the ABT e-Transporter and the ABT e-Cabby, jointly with Abt e-Line GmbH and will arrive in the middle of 2019. The vehicles are focussed on zero-emission and the I.D. Buzz can take some time to reach the markets, most probably by 2022.