Volkswagen Tests Five Level 4 Self-driving Vehicles On The Streets Of Hamburg, Germany

A fleet of five Volkswagen electric e-Golf  vehicles, with Level 4 self-driving capability (fully autonomous in most situations) , hits the streets of downtown Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday.The testers currently cover only 3-km portion for its current autonomous driving tests.

According to the German Automaker , it will be “the first time Volkswagen has begun to test automated driving to Level 4 at real driving conditions in a major German city”

Each of the electric e-Golfs are equipped with 14 cameras, ultrasonic sensors, seven radars and 11 laser scanners ,and according to Volkswagen, “Up to 5 GB of data are communicated per minute during the regular test drives, each of which lasts several hours. Computing power equivalent to some 15 laptops is tucked away in the boot of the e-Golf”

The system is designed to predict all possible outcomes 10 seconds into the future in order to be best prepared. And it re-evaluates the situation multiple times every second.

Volkswagen’s Level 4 self-driving e-Golfs can operate on their own within set conditions, though drivers are still required to handle things outside of the conditions.

Level 5 is what all automakers are aiming for .At this level, a self-driving car can drive to any destination and make its own decisions on the way while you sleep all through the journey.