Volvo plans to have a hundred autonomous vehicles on the road in two years from now, and in preparation for that, the Swedish automaker is getting these vehicles ready by making sure they react the right way to certain “real life” situations.
By 2017, Volvo hopes to have its fleet of self-driving cars on the roads of Gothenburg, with consumers being able to drive these vehicles in autopilot mode in normal (emphasis on normal) traffic. Yesterday, Volvo explained how it is getting ready for this soft launch, and according to technical specialist Erik Coelingh, the carmaker is “combining sensors, computers, and a chassis system in a clever way” in order to prepare its self-driving vehicles for real world situations, which, in other words, can be considered as emergencies.
According to Volvo, its self-driving cars will come with an independent brake system as a backup should the main brakes fail; this would not require the driver to regain control of the vehicle. Drivers who are incapacitated need not worry, as Volvo’s autonomous cars would automatically look for a safe place to stop in such an event. The cars may also include a tri-focal camera behind the windscreen in order to spot objects, including other cars. A forward-looking multiple-beam laser scanner would be located underneath the air intake, and would be able to determine certain objects, and recognize other vehicles.
Those are just a few of the technological features Volvo has included, as it prepares for the actual launch of its electric car program and pushes forward in its goal to prevent all deaths and injuries in its new vehicles by the year 2020.