VW explores design for autonomous cars without steering wheel or pedals
The development and production of self-driving cars have, in most cases, followed a familiar pattern: a standard production vehicle is taken and equipped with hardware and software for autonomous driving. For example, robotaxi provider Waymo converts regular Jaguar I-Pace vehicles accordingly, though these still retain steering wheels and pedals for test drives and safety drivers. Similarly, the ID. Buzz AD from Volkswagen, which will soon be deployed in the ALIKE project in Hamburg and with ride-hailing provider Uber in the USA, is based on the regular electric minivan ID. Buzz combined with technology from Mobileye—and still features a conventional steering wheel and pedals.