09/03/2022

Where can you find CARIAD in the new ID. Buzz?

Today, Volkswagen launched the eagerly anticipated ID. Buzz, reviving an iconic design from the 50s. In this article, we give you an insight into the software functions that truly bring it to life.

  • Technology
The sustainable and software-driven ID. Buzz symbolizes the power of freedom. The sustainable and software-driven ID. Buzz symbolizes the power of freedom.

With the all-electric ID. Buzz, Volkswagen is bringing everything we love about the iconic bus into the age of NEW AUTO. In its new form, the vehicle continues to represent everything that freedom and mobility can be. It’s the new face of intelligent and sustainable mobility – driven by software. 

CARIAD has worked in close collaboration with the Volkswagen brand to develop exciting new software in the ID. Buzz, including Plug & Charge, bidirectional charging, and driver assistance systems paving the way for automated driving in the future.

Of course, the world premiere doesn’t mark the end of our work. With over-the-air updates, the ID. Buzz will remain more timeless than ever before. We’ll continuously keep a number of control units in the vehicle up to date with the latest software, constantly renewing the vehicle far into the future.

Plug & Charge

The ID. Buzz comes with the new ‘Plug & Charge’ function, developed by CARIAD. As soon as the driver plugs in the charging cable at a compatible rapid charging point, the vehicle begins an authentication process. The rapid charging point connects to a backend to check whether the appropriate OEM provisioning certificate is stored in the car. Communication is secure and encrypted in accordance with ISO 15118 – an international standard based on digital certificates in a public key infrastructure, agreed upon by car manufacturers, charging point operators and infrastructure providers.

The rapid charging station reports the amount of electricity used to the mobility service provider (MSP) via the backend. The MSP then charges the customer on the basis of the contract terms stored in the certificate.

Plug & Charge makes the charging process far more convenient for customers. The authentication process takes only a few seconds, after which charging begins. There’s no need for a charging card for payment, with the vehicle essentially becoming a digital charging card itself. Not only that but, because the communication is encrypted across different levels, data security is much higher than can be expected with a charging card.

Bidirectional charging

Bidirectional charging is a pioneering technology that’s soon to be launched by Volkswagen that represents a new concept of mobile freedom. With this function, electric cars can feed electricity that they don’t need into the home grid via a special DC BiDi wallbox (vehicle-to-home), therefore also providing the electricity to stabilize the power grid in the future.

The ID. Buzz launched with bidirectional charging technology, and it’ll later also feature in all other models in the ID. Family with a 77 kWh battery.

In the future, we’ll also release over-the-air updates to retrofit vehicles already delivered with this technology.

Assistance systems

In its top configuration, the ID. Buzz will have more than 30 assistance systems on board. These include Travel Assist with swarm data, which enables partially automated lateral and longitudinal guidance and, for the first time, assisted lane changes on highways at speeds of 90 km/h and above.

Travel Assist makes use of swarm data. This is information about the vehicle itself, as well as its surroundings and road conditions. The data is collectively gathered by millions of vehicles on the road via sensors, radar, lidar and cameras, and stored in a cloud database.

If swarm data is available, Travel Assist only needs to use the detected lane boundary to remain in its lane. This is particularly useful when driving on rural roads, for example, which don’t have standard, clear lane markings. In this way, Travel Assist with swarm data greatly improve comfort and safety for drivers, and pre-equip the ID. Buzz for automated driving in the future.

The ID. Buzz brings with it features such as Travel Assist with swarm data, Plug & Charge and bidirectional charging. The ID. Buzz brings with it features such as Travel Assist with swarm data, Plug & Charge and bidirectional charging.
CARIAD Media Team

CARIAD Media Team