Driverless Car Completes Test Drives in Switzerland

For about 10 days, the Volkswagen Passat completed various test drives in Zurich—marking the first time a driverless car took to the roads in Switzerland.
Swisscom worked with the UVEK (the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications) and Germany’s Autonomous Labs to make this happen, according to a news release. Autonomous Labs equipped the driverless vehicle with sensors, computers and software to drive, brake and steer the car autonomously. The Passat used laser scanners, radar and video cameras to detect pedestrians and other vehicles, while the software issued driving commands and analyzed data.
A specially trained driver sat behind the wheel during the testing, which happened on UVEK approved routes, according to the release. Swisscom will use empirical data gathered during the tests to learn more about “mobility of the future.” Swisscom is an ICT provider and is positioned to network cars, objects and people.
“Swisscom is not turning into a car manufacturer,” said Christian Petit, Head of Swisscom Enterprise Customers. “But future innovations in the automotive industry will center on networking with the environment. For this reason, the driverless car is a prime example of digitization and therefore of great interest to us.”
For more information visit Swisscom.com.