VW to Open Automotive Innovation Lab at Stanford

German manufacturer Volkswagen announced it will open an Automotive Innovation Lab (VAIL) at Stanford University last weekend. The new facility, still under construction, "will provide about 750 square meters of space for research teams from the fields of mechanical engineering, electronics and information technology, as well as a fully equipped workshop area."

"Stanford University and Volkswagen are ideal partners. VAIL is an important step in further developing this international collaboration. Both Science and industry should benefit equally from the new VAIL lab in paving the way toward new technologies," Jurgen Leohold, Volkswagen research group head said at the event.

VAIL will be in charge with improving mobility, vehicle safety and environmental protection. Aside for the aforementioned research tools and facilities, the site will also be fitted with a vehicle proving ground.

The construction of VAIL will cost Volkswagen some two million dollars. In addition, the German group will fund Stanford's CarLab with about $750,000 per year, in the following five years. The facility and funding are aimed at attracting "top-notch, young international scientists and provide them with opportunities for independent research."

The collaboration between the carmaker and the American university is not new, as the two have already entered and won a second place in the 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge and Urban Challenge races with the Robotic Volkswagen Passat wagon, nicknamed Junior.

Junior was the result of the work done by a Stanford team and the Volkswagen of America Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL).