Volvo, ever the innovators in the area of vehicle safety, have gone another step in attempting to wipe out road deaths. The latest technology being trialled is 360° view, designed to provide the driver with a full view around the car to eliminate any blind spots that the vehicle may have.
The technology trial was designed to create a cohesive detection system out of a number of discrete sensors installed around the car, something that has never before been accomplished. This required the development of a centralised Sensor Fusion framework to enable the various technologies – cameras, radar, lidar, GPS, etc.– to share information efficiently.
The system is able to provide a complete 360° view of the environment and perceive any potentially threatening objects that drivers would otherwise not be able to see. By focusing on viable automotive sensors, the project has taken a big step in making this new technology a reality in the near future.
Two fully operational test vehicles has so far been built to continue to analyse the results of what could be the biggest leap in road safety for many years.
“Volvo Cars is definitely on the front line when it comes to innovative active safety research and development. And with the Non-Hit Car and Truck project, we’ve taken a significant step towards realising the vision that by 2020 no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car. The technology is also imperative for the development of self-driving cars, which will be able to automatically steer and brake to avoid collision with any object in any situation. Our primary objective is to focus on preventing different types of accident scenarios. But going forward, we will also continue to work on developing cars that adapt to each individual driver’s unique behaviour,” says Anders Almevad, Project Manager for the Non-Hit Car Project at Volvo Cars.
Leave a Reply