German companies Bosch and Cariad, the Volkswagen Group’s software subsidiary, have announced an extended partnership to accelerate the introduction of partially and highly automated driving functions suitable for series production on all classes of Volkswagen Group vehicles and their marketing to other car manufacturers. The functions involved are hands-free systems for city, highway and off-road driving (Level 2) and a system that takes over all highway driving functions (SAE Level 3). Level 4 (fully autonomous driving) will be considered in the future.

The autonomous car seems to be the technological challenge of the century. All car manufacturers, but also large groups such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple, have entered the race. Bosch and Volkswagen are already partners in the design of digital maps for autonomous vehicles, and the two companies are now working on the development of a state-of-the-art standardized software platform.

Two companies with expertise in software and mass production

With more than 10 million vehicles sold each year, Volkswagen is one of the world’s largest automotive groups and brings together popular car brands such as Volkswagen, Audi or Porsche and many others. Its subsidiary, Cariad, aims to make the group a leading provider of digital and software-based mobility. Bosch, a German multinational engineering and technology company, has a philosophy of “inventing for life” and is constantly developing new ways to apply artificial intelligence and connectivity that will make all aspects of life easier and more sustainable. Its CEO, Dr. Volkmar further states:

“It’s about putting the human at the center of artificial intelligence development.”

The two companies have decided to pool their AI expertise.
Dr. Markus Heyn, a member of the Bosch board of directors, states:

“For private vehicles, the progress towards automated driving is taking place one step at a time. At Bosch, we have been working successfully on this for many years. With Cariad, we will now accelerate the introduction of partially and highly automated driving functions in all classes of vehicles and make them available to everyone. This makes driving on the roads safer and more extensive. We will also be able to offer the solutions we create to our other customers and thus set new standards. Both partners have what it takes to make increasingly automated driving a common sight on our roads: they have decades of experience in mass production, scalability and approval of driving systems, as well as expertise in the areas of software, data-driven development and artificial intelligence.”

Dirk Hilgenberg, CEO of Cariad, states:

“Automated driving is key to the future of our industry. Through our cooperation, we are supporting Germany’s reputation for innovation. Bosch and Cariad have further strengthened their expertise in the development of pioneering technologies. This underlines our ambition to provide the best possible solutions to our customers as soon as possible.”

A state-of-the-art software platform

Associates from the Bosch Cross-Domain Computing Solutions division and Cariad will work together in mixed, agile teams, including in Stuttgart and Ingolstadt. The various modules required by the project – from middleware to individual applications – will occupy more than 1,000 experts from both companies.

The project is based on the development of data-driven software from the 360-degree surround detection information base requiring a large database of actual road traffic. It involves integrating data collected under real traffic conditions into the development process, continuously and in real time. Dr. Mathias Pillin, President of Bosch Cross-Domain Computing Solutions, states:

“The best testing ground for the development of automated driving is road traffic. With the help of one of the world’s largest connected vehicle fleets, we will have access to a huge database. This will allow us to take automated driving systems to a new level. All our customers could benefit from this.”

Dr. Ingo Stürmer, project manager of the alliance at Cariad adds:

“Together we can test automated driving functions on a larger scale in real vehicles and implement them faster. Our engineering work will be done jointly, with Bosch and Cariad as one team. There has never been an alliance like this in the automotive industry .”

Translated from Bosch et Cariad, la filiale logicielle du groupe Volkswagen, partenaires pour la conduite automatisée