Cayenne

Make
Porsche
Segment
SUV

As the automaker's first series production EV, the Porsche Taycan is a very impressive technological achievement. But Porsche is already developing new technology to prepare for the next automotive revolution: self-driving cars.

Patent filings suggest Porsche is designing special reclining seats and adjustable roofs for self-driving cars. Now, the German automaker has started testing fully autonomous technology using a Porsche Cayenne. You won't see it roaming the streets yet, however. Instead, the technology is being used to demonstrate how autonomous driving can be used in Porsche's workshop to make life easier for engineers as part of a collaboration with Kopernikus Automotive.

Before the Cayenne could drive autonomously in the workshop, Porsche created a digital version of a test site in Ludwigsburg, Germany, including the surrounding workshop environment. Porsche then used data from the digital test to "train" an artificial intelligence system, which requires less sensor technology than traditional autonomous technology and reduces costs. This advanced AI technology was then tested in the real world using a Porsche Cayenne.

"This is a move away from sensors in the vehicle to sensors in the external environment, and a move away from relatively rigid programming to data-based intelligent systems," said Alexander Haas, Project Manager for Automated Driving at the Porsche workshop.

The test field for autonomous driving features a customer service hall and its forecourt. Using a tablet to control the car, the Cayenne can be driven by engineers completely autonomously from the parking space to the lifting platform and back. Porsche says using autonomous driving in the workshop offers a range of advantages.

Repairs can be performed faster and more cost-efficiently, and Porsche was able to gather valuable information on artificial intelligence-based autonomous driving. In the future, Porsche wants to apply the technology to ports, logistics and parking lots. Don't be surprised if the technology is eventually used for fully autonomous production cars.