Volkswagen Sedric is a fully autonomous concept car

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This project is the fruit of cooperation between the Volkswagen research departments in Wolfsburg and Potsdam.

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By 2025, Volkswagen wants to become the world leader in self-driving road transport, which is why the fully self-driving Sedric concept car was designed. The name of the prototype stands for Self-driving car, that is, "self-driving car." The electric concept was developed jointly by the Potsdam Future Center Europe and the Volkswagen Group Research in Wolfsburg.

The outlandish "capsule" Sedric is the first concept car created on behalf of the Volkswagen Group, and not the Volkswagen brand or any other brand of the concern.

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Research into the “mobility of the future” (for which the operator MOIA is even created) is an important part of the TOGETHER – Strategy 2025 development strategy, and, of course, this future seems to be filled with autonomous transport. How it can look and how to act, and shows this show car.

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The Sedric drone is the first concept presented under the common Volkswagen Group brand. In the future, he will have heirs under the brands included in the group, each with a unique corporate design and equipment set.

Having practiced on the ID concept hatch, which can drive both independently and under the control of a driver, Volkswagen built a prototype with the fifth level of autonomy (this is the maximum).

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There are no controls here (although the passengers are left with the send and forced stop buttons). The machine is 100% self-sufficient, 100% electric, connected to the network and called with a single button.

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The Sedric show car is class XNUMX drone, which means it doesn't need a driver at all. He does not have a steering wheel, a pedal block either, and the windshield is an OLED screen with augmented reality elements. There is no traditional ignition key either, instead of it there is a key fob with a button and a color indicator. Pressing the button instructs the car to drive up to its passengers and open the doors. Access to the salon is provided by high swing doors. Armchairs in the cabin are installed opposite each other.

In Switzerland, the concept was presented by Matthias Müller, CEO of the Volkswagen Group.

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As conceived by the authors of the project, Sedric will provide mobility for everyone: adults and children, pensioners and the disabled, urban residents who do not have their own car or tourists.

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The main interaction with the machine is voice. Passengers can talk to Cedric about their destination, travel time or alternative routes, traffic conditions, or ask to stop for a break.

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The design of the Sedric was designed without regard to traditional canons: it has no hood or shoulder line. The battery pack is made flat and installed between the axles, the electric motor is mounted at the level of the wheels, and the air conditioning and artificial intelligence module are located in the front and rear overhangs. Air enters the cabin through a bamboo charcoal filter, and additionally it is cleaned by plants installed on a shelf in front of the rear window.

The windshield is a translucent OLED display with augmented reality. A combination of natural and artificial materials, in particular birch bark, is responsible for comfort.

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The cabin can accommodate four people and a lot of luggage.

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The main motive for the development is not even autonomy as such (you can hardly surprise anyone with it now), but the study of the interaction between the machine and people. In one shot, the boss of the group summons Sedric to the stage by pressing a single button on a miniature remote control.

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Sedric's self-driving concept car is the perfect vehicle for everyone: it can be used to take kids to school, it can be driven by people without a driver's license... In addition, it fits perfectly into the concept of carsharing and carpooling.

Car sharing is a type of car use when one of the parties is not its owner. In other words, this is a car rental for a short time with a minute or hourly payment. Usually used for short trips within the city.

Carpooling is the sharing of a private car with the help of online services for finding fellow travelers. At the same time, fuel costs are distributed proportionally and the optimal route for all participants in the trip is selected without significant deviations from the main route of the driver (car owner).

In the future, such shuttles can take children to school and parents to work, pick them up from training according to a predetermined schedule, and even go shopping on their own, that is, deliver kits ordered online from the store to the client’s door.

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The device is suitable both for work as a minibus, as well as a vehicle on call or a car for carpooling (systems with automated selection of fellow travelers).

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The head of the concern said that the ideas and technologies embodied in Cedric will spread to other concepts and prototypes that will be created by subsidiaries, with adjustments to suit their tasks. And individual elements will be gradually introduced on serial machines.

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The call button can be physical (on a pocket remote control) or virtual (on a smartphone screen). In the first case, the device can give color signals counting the time of arrival of the car, and by vibration suggest the direction to it for visually impaired passengers.