Volvo wants to put 100 fully autonomous vehicles into the hands of customers for use on select public roads in the Swedish city of Gothenburg within the next two years. The public pilot is part of a “one-of-a-kind collaboration between legislators, transport authorities, a major city and a vehicle manufacturer” according to a recent press release.
Using an array of sensors, cloud-based positioning systems, and intelligent braking and steering technologies, Volvo believes it has created a production-viable, fully autonomous driving system ready for consumer use. It’s called Drive Me.
Volvo says the main challenge was designing a system that could account for a diverse number of traffic scenarios and the potential for technical faults. At the outset, the fully autonomous driving function will only be used in “suitable conditions," which include a lack of oncoming traffic, cyclists, and pedestrians.
“Making this complex system 99 percent reliable is not good enough. You need to get much closer to 100 percent before you can let self-driving cars mix with other road users in real-life traffic,” says Dr. Erik Coelingh, Technical Specialist at Volvo Cars. “Here, we have a similar approach to that of the aircraft industry.”
Volvo cites benefits that include decreased environmental impact, greater safety, and additional free time.
The Drive Me system uses an enormous array of technology. These include radar, cameras, lasers, GPS, ultrasonic sensors, high-definition 3D digital maps, and cloud-based services that connect to the traffic authority’s central control hub.
Click past the jump to read more about Volvo’s Drive Me - Self-driving Cars.
Volvo Presents Drive Me - Self-driving Cars For Sustainable Mobility originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 20 February 2015 13:00 EST.
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