Volkswagen Group is moving its self-driving research vehicle, Gen.Urban, into a fresh testing phase on public roads in Wolfsburg, with the prototype now operating autonomously in real urban traffic.
The project is less about raw autonomy headlines and more about the human side.
Volkswagen Group Innovation wants to learn what it feels like to ride in a vehicle designed without a traditional steering wheel or pedals, and what that means for future cabin layouts, interfaces and everyday usability across the Group’s brands.
An interdisciplinary team spanning design, human factors, software and materials is gathering detailed data on how people behave inside the Gen.Urban and how they interact with it.
The questions are practical and, in places, blunt: how do passengers actually spend their time, which digital features best support work or downtime, what makes interaction intuitive for older users or children, and, ultimately, whether people feel comfortable.
Gen.Urban is set up to deliver personalisation before the journey even begins. Passengers can adjust preferences such as cabin temperature and ambient lighting via an app or directly in the vehicle.
On entry, the car greets the passenger and the seat automatically moves to a pre-set position.
Volkswagen said the digital interior can also be tailored using artificial intelligence, including a wide front display that adapts its information, lighting and sound to an individual theme.
Because this is still research, the “driver” seat is occupied by the test participant, while a trained safety driver sits in the front passenger seat and monitors the system. If needed, the safety driver can take over using a specially developed control panel with a joystick.
The current round of tests starts with Volkswagen Group employees and runs for several weeks.
“The technology for autonomous driving is making rapid progress,” Volkswagen Group Innovation head Dr Nikolai Ardey said. “With our Gen.Urban research vehicle, we want to understand exactly how passengers experience autonomous driving.”
The route is a near 10km loop starting at the visitor car park at Volkswagen’s HQ building, running through a mix of typical city scenarios.
It passes the Sandkamp factory gate and streets including Saar, Lessing, Breslauer and Heinrich-Nordhoff, taking in traffic lights, roundabouts, residential and industrial stretches, roadworks and the occasional congestion. Each drive lasts about 20 minutes.
