science

MadeInGermany

MadeInGermany is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand MadeInGermany rather than just read about it. In short: MadeInGermany was a driverless car developed by the Freie Universität Berlin and AutoNOMOS Labs in 2011. MadeInGermany is a Volkswagen Passat Variant 3C with a built-in drive-by-wire control.

Key takeaways

MadeInGermany belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect MadeInGermany to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of MadeInGermany from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

MadeInGermany was a driverless car developed by the Freie Universität Berlin and AutoNOMOS Labs in 2011. MadeInGermany is a Volkswagen Passat Variant 3C with a built-in drive-by-wire control. It measures 4.7 m (15 ft) in length, 1.8 m (5.9 ft) in width, and 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in height with a total weight of 1.7 tons. Furthermore, it is equipped with a 2.0 liter Turbocharged Stratified Injection (TSI) engine. Parts of the CAN gateway interfaces have been opened by Volkswagen for research purposes so that a computer can access and control the car. In addition, various lidar and radar scanners are integrated into the vehicle's chassis without exceeding the ex factory measurements of the vehicle (except for the Velodyne sensor). The sensor configuration is designed to have a 360-degree field of view around the car with redundant coverage. The Velodyne and six Ibeo LUX laser scanners cover almost any area around the car for up to 50 m (160 ft). In addition, radar sensors from TRW, Hella, and SMS support the sensor fusion process by adding accurate velocity information about surroundings objects. Camera sensors are used for lane detection, traffic light detection, and stereo vision. After participating in the DARPA Urban Challenge, the research focus of Freie Universität Berlin shifted to driving in heavy traffic in crowded city environments like Berlin, Germany, itself. For this undertaking, a new vehicle has been designed to meet the criteria for a city approval to drive autonomously on real roads. The vehicle was named MadeInGermany and has driven over 3,000 km (1,900 mi) autonomously on Berlin's city roads and highways with no human intervention. The primary goal is to operate autonomously in urban environments with dense human traffic and obeying traffic regulations. In order to obtain permission to drive autonomously and freely in daily traffic alongside other traffic participants, the sensors have been primarily mounted inside the car's body. MadeInGermany was also a test vehicle for semi-autonomous control, being remote-controlled with an iPad app or a brain–computer interface.

See also DARPA Grand Challenge Spirit of Berlin ELROB trials

References

External links ARGO Project on autonomous cars

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with MadeInGermany

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what MadeInGermany claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to MadeInGermany before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about MadeInGermany ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of MadeInGermany

In research: MadeInGermany appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses MadeInGermany in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: MadeInGermany is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Self-driving car companies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for MadeInGermany outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study MadeInGermany in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what MadeInGermany means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain MadeInGermany out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is MadeInGermany in simple terms?

MadeInGermany was a driverless car developed by the Freie Universität Berlin and AutoNOMOS Labs in 2011. MadeInGermany is a Volkswagen Passat Variant 3C with a built-in drive-by-wire control.

Why does MadeInGermany matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study MadeInGermany?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on MadeInGermany.