Stanford will be receiving a total of $5.57 million from Volkswagen of America. This is initially for the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab (VAIL), but it will be shared with Stanford University. VAIL is a new program that supports automotive teaching and research for interested students. This learning will take root at the Stanford University, where Junior was readied for the DARPA Challenge. From the makers of the VW parts, another branch of knowledge is accomplished to improve the automotive industry. (So before this news continues, congratulations Volkswagen, this is another great initiative from you guys!)

“The VAIL will be a solid foundation on which Volkswagen researchers and Stanford scientists will be able to find new ways to explore automotive technology,” Volkswagen of America’s Electronics Research Laboratory executive director Dr. Burkhard Huhnke, said in an interview by Earthtimes. “The work done at VAIL will help to further develop the future of mobility and autonomous driving that we started with our partnership on the DARPA Grand Challenge vehicles, Stanley and Junior.”

The makers of the VW parts are going to donate $2 million so that the California-established University could erect the building of the VAIL. A $750,000 budget is allotted every year for five years to fund the actual research and teaching activities, according to a report by Earthtimes. The classes will be held at Stanford’s CarLab, VAIL’s interdisciplinary research center.

“The success of Junior and Stanley in the DARPA Grand Challenge events show that when Stanford collaborates with great partners in industry, such as Volkswagen, we can create significant new technologies,” says Stanford Dean of Engineering Jim Plummer, in the same interview. “Transportation is a vital part of life and our goal as engineers is to find innovative ways to meet important human needs.”

Source: Earthtimes

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