Volkswagen Tests Self-Driving Car on Roads for the First Time
It was the first time the ID BUZZ AD ventured off a purpose-built test track since its unveiling
April 25, 2022
![](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt31d6b0704ba96e9d/blt1ad2329fec8cde62/63abe7456dfe9647266718e5/Screenshot-106.png?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale)
Volkswagen is testing its autonomous ID BUZZ AD prototype on public roads for the first time.
The German automaker took the Level 4 electric vehicle for a test run on the streets of Munich, with VW Group CEO Herbert Deiss as a passenger.
The test held major significance, marking the first time the ID BUZZ AD had ventured off a purpose-built test track since it was unveiled at the Munich Motor Show last September. The retro-styled MPV features six Lidar sensors, 11 radars and 14 cameras feeding data into software supplied by Pittsburgh-based self-driving company Argo AI.
In the footage, the vehicle has a safety driver, and it is explained that he will keep his hands close to the steering wheel, “ready to intervene if needed.” But the vehicle seems entirely comfortable following its route.
Variables such as the unexpected movement of people present more of a challenge. Deiss is accompanied in the back seat of the ID BUZZ AD by Argo AI’s managing director in Munich, Alex Haag, who explains, “A pedestrian on the side [of the road] is easy for a human, but it is not always easy for us to predict they are not going to move.