2007 DARPA Urban Challenge in the US: Volkswagen to enter sensor-driven Passat

Autonomous prototype fitted with cutting-edge technology to
master urban traffic scenarios in competitive conditions
Wolfsburg, 14 June, 2007 – One of the world’s most unconventional
car races gets underway on 3 November: the 2007 DARPA* Urban
Challenge. A variety of teams will be entering their “smart vehicles
on a course covering 60 miles of unknown territory and designed to
simulate urban driving conditions – the aim being to post the fastest
time while, of course, observing traffic regulations. This requires
participating vehicles to merge into traffic, cross roundabouts and
negotiate busy intersections. No drivers are permitted, meaning that
all cars are navigated and driven by computers. This year’s Urban
Challenge will see Volkswagen entering a customised Passat – built
by Volkswagen’s research department and its California-based
Electronic Research Laboratory (ERL) with the assistance of Stanford
University.


The Passat Junior– named in tribute to Stanford University founder
Leland Stanford Jnr. – is fitted with electromechanical power steering, an
electric accelerator pedal, a Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) and an electric
handbrake. Volkswagen of America’s Electronic Research Laboratory
modified these electric systems and the brakes to make the vehicle 100%
computer-controlled. Custom-made mountings for the array of
sophisticated sensors were likewise designed and built by the ERL. The
vehicle’s brain comprises Intel Core 2 Duo processors featuring two
multiple-processing units per chip. Together with software developed at
Stanford University’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the vehicle will be
genuinely autonomous.


After our victory at the last DARPA Grand Challenge, Volkswagen is
excited to join the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. We see an opportunity
to further advance intelligent technologies for use in passenger vehicles of
the future. The features developed for the Urban Challenge will ultimately
make driving safer and more enjoyable in today’s increasingly dense
traffic”, explains Dr. Burkhard Huhnke, head of Volkswagen’s Electronic
Research Laboratory. And he adds: “In the fuel-efficient diesel-powered
Passat we have the perfect car for this challenge, just as our Touareg
‘Stanley’ was for its 2005 Grand Challenge triumph.


Volkwagen won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge with a Touareg TDI by
the name of Stanley. Using onboard sensors and navigation features,
Stanley defeated 22 other unmanned vehicles in a demanding

132-milechampionship race taking in rough desert roads, mountain

passes, driedup lakes and tunnels. Stanley completed the race without a single glitch,
posting a winning time of six hours and 54 minutes.


The Electronic Research Laboratory


Since its foundation in 1998, Volkswagen of America’s Electronic
Research Laboratory (ERL) has focussed its work on providing customers
with smarter vehicles sooner. This involves identifying new technologies
and accelerating their development for future vehicle production. Based in
Palo Alto, California, the ERL is the only Volkswagen facility of its kind in
North America. Its location at the heart of Silicon Valley enables
Volkswagen to work directly with the world’s leading high-tech companies
and start-ups. These partnerships put the ERL in a position to plan and
develop innovative features and applications that are then integrated into
Volkswagen vehicles for analysis and testing purposes. Further details
concerning the Electronic Research Laboratory are available at
www.vwerl.com.


* (DARPA - Defense Advance Research Projects Agency, an organisation
of the United States Department of Defense)


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Volkswagen Communications
Product Communications
Harthmuth Hoffmann
Tel.: +49 (0) 53 61 – 92 86 99
Fax: +49 (0) 53 61 – 92 19 52
e-mail: harthmuth.hoffmann@volkswagen.de