Starting in 2020 Volkswagen will be launching newly developed electric vehicles with long driving ranges and visionary design: the I.D. Family. Three I.D. models have already been presented as concept cars: the compact I.D, the I.D. CROZZ and the I.D. BUZZ.
Now, at the Geneva Motor Show, Volkswagen is presenting the new automotive highlight of the I.D. Family: the I.D. VIZZION – a next-generation, avant-garde premium class saloon. It drives autonomously and is operated by voice and gesture control. Thanks to artificial intelligence, it is will be capable of learning.
Travel and space reinterpreted, Volkswagen I.D. VIZZION transfers the charismatic design DNA of the I.D. models – the design of Volkswagen electric mobility – to the world of large saloons. The models achieve their status through a new, intelligent interpretation of travel and space. The mobile interior – the ‘open space’ – is thought out anew here, so that the time spent on short and long trips in daily living can be utilized more productively and flexibly. Interaction with the I.D. VIZZION is performed virtually via augmented reality (AR). Here, a vision of the year 2030 is being provided with respect to truly comprehensive connectivity. The car’s communications technology has advanced to become a host, a virtual assistant which is capable of learning and responds empathically.
The I.D. VIZZION delivers one thing above all: more personal freedom. That is because it is a smart device on wheels that does not require a driver and thereby becomes a chauffeur. Because it is so comprehensively connected that it is part of the digital world. Because it gives all on-board guests (there is no driver) the freedom to relax, communicate, work and set the next destination for the I.D. VIZZION while on the road. Thanks to the intuitive interaction between human and machine via augmented reality and newly designed mixed reality eyewear – the HoloLens developed by Microsoft – as well as natural language control, the I.D. VIZZION is designed to be fully intuitive and therefore easy for users to operate. The largest of any of the Volkswagen I.D. models presented to date will become a mobile living space that can be comprehensively personalized through the interactive lounge or ‘open space’.
In presenting the I.D. VIZZION, Volkswagen is showing the great potential embodied by the All-New Electric Architecture of the I.D. Family. Based on this technical matrix, Volkswagen will be able to cover the entire spectrum of electric mobility. The concept car being presented in Geneva is also further proof that Volkswagen is not leaving any scenario unexamined on the road to the future. Like all of the other I.D. models shown previously, the I.D. VIZZION is far more than just a projection screen for the future. In its fluid, monolithic design and progressive All-New Electric Architecture it reflects how Volkswagen envisions an electrically powered premium class saloon. While, as mentioned, user operation via augmented reality gives an outlook on the year 2030, fully automated driving on Level 5 is already conceivable starting in 2025.
The electric all-wheel-drive system with two electric motors delivers a system power of 225 kW, while a high-voltage battery with 111 kWh of energy capacity offering a driving range of up to 665 kilometers. The I.D. VIZZION concept car is one of the first cars to have the future potential of ‘artificial intelligence’ incorporated into its concept. Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to programmes capable of self- learning which execute algorithms to recognize, evaluate and interpret patterns. Over time, these systems continue to learn more, which also enables them to react to new situations. Today’s software engineers write programmes and thereby implement characteristics in automobiles that are highly innovative but not yet capable of learning, soon programmes will be used that utilize ‘machine learning’. It is a car that combines mobility on the highest level with intelligent services – a kind of intelligent chauffeur. That is precisely what the I.D. VIZZION does. Volkswagen is promoting AI development for automobiles in a big way. The path to this goal can be partitioned into three phases: ‘conventional programming’ (today), ‘machine learning’ (immediate future) and ‘artificial intelligence’ (future).
all images courtesy of Volkswagen