Volkswagen Group and leading self-driving technology company, Aurora Innovation, announced a strategic collaboration ahead of the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The collaboration brings the two companies together to realize self-driving electric vehicles in cities as Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) fleets. The collaboration with Aurora will provide valuable experience to VW in the ongoing development of software and hardware for driverless vehicles, and, additionally, mobility services for urban and rural areas.
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As the Self-Driving System (SDS) reaches the required maturity and safety levels in the first cities, it can be integrated across the Group brands, for different product categories- from fully self-driving pods, like SEDRIC, the Volkswagen concept introduced in 2017.
Johann Jungwirth, Chief Digital Officer, Volkswagen Group said, "Working with Aurora, a leading self-driving system company, will give us a giant leap forward in our mission to become the world's leading provider of sustainable mobility, with self-driving vehicles. Our aim is to create new Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) solutions which customers will be really passionate about because they have been tailored to the human with highest safety standards, best-in-class user experience and digital intelligence. For me this is the reinvention of mobility and the automobile."
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Chris Urmson, CEO, Aurora said, "Our priority at Aurora is to make self-driving cars a reality quickly, broadly and safely, and we know we will get there faster by partnering with innovative automakers like Volkswagen. This partnership establishes a deep collaboration using Aurora's self-driving technology, and together we will bring self-driving vehicles to market at scale."
Over the past six months, specialists from Volkswagen and Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab (VAIL) at Stanford University have already been working with experts from Aurora to integrate Aurora's self-driving system including sensors, hardware and software, such as Machine Learning and AI technology in VW's vehicle platforms. VW is focused on creating new solutions, with the goal of providing best-in-class user experience with a focus on safety, convenience and usability.
