Volvo Cars and safety go together just as well as milk and cookies and peanut butter and jelly so it should come as no surprise that the automaker is constantly pushing itself for the better. Since the brand has been developing new technologies day in and day out, a new safety goal has been created for the future. By 2020, Volvo is looking to make sure that no one is seriously injured or killed while inside a new Volvo car or utility. To accomplish this goal, three main areas will addressed for future research: autonomous driving support, intersection support and animal detection.
Volvo isn’t a company to be unrealistic and they are fully aware of the issues surrounding drivers safety. “In the modern mobile society we bring our social lives with us wherever we go. The car is no exception,” said Jan Ivarsson, Senior Manager for Safety Strategy and Requirements at Volvo Car Corporation. Through surveys from three outside U.S. research groups, Volvo figures that modern-day drivers spend between 25 and 30 percent of their commutes doing “other things”. Because of that, new systems are being developed while taking into account the use of mobile devices.
Autonomous driving systems are a major role player in Volvo’s safety goal. Using radar and camera systems, a Volvo vehicle can automatically keep a pre desired distance from other vehicles while in traffic. A similar system can be used to aid drivers in intersections as well especially given that the automatic braking set up can usually react faster than a typical driver. Another aspect usually overlooked is animal detection which, considering about 200 people are killed in wild animal impacts in the U.S. each year, needs to be addressed. Volvo’s current radar system has the ability to detect an object from 30 meters away and has the reaction time to greatly reduce speed and or stop the car in time.
Source: Volvo
