Volvo and Autoliv launch their own autonomous driving project

Autonomous driving technology is not yet sufficiently developed to be fully appealing to the general public. These projects are taking tentative steps, and although significant advances are being made, it is not a technology that can be used in a normal and everyday manner on the roads of any country. At least, not yet.

In Sweden, the company Volvo has joined forces with Autoliv, a company specialised in automotive safety technology, to develop a new autonomous driving project. Together, they have made 100 vehicles equipped with these driving systems available for people to test on the roads of Gothenburg. The project is called Drive Me and is being tested with the technology offered by both companies.

They are not the only parties involved in this project, as several Swedish public institutions are also present, such as the Swedish Ministry of Transport, the Swedish Transport Agency, Chalmers University of Technology, Lindholmen Science Park and the City of Gothenburg. Under their auspices, the engineers and technicians of Volvo and Autoliv have developed software and hardware to enable the vehicles to drive without the need for intervention by a human driver.

For Volvo, safety is important, and it should be remembered that this is the company that invented the seatbelt. For the time being, the Drive Me programme is underway to design and produce the technological elements that will later be incorporated into these 100 cars to be tested by the drivers included in Drive Me.

All those involved in this project agree that it is an ambitious plan to improve road safety, as well as helping to ease traffic levels. In theory, these autonomously driven cars would improve traffic on the roads leading into cities. The lack of attention of human drivers has been identified as the main causes of road accidents, something that will be eliminated once driving is supported by autonomous driving systems.

For now, tests will be carried out with systems that are already available, such as emergency braking, lane departure warning and others that equip the Volvo models and that enhance the driving experience and safety during journeys. Although quite significant tests have already been carried out with autonomous driving systems, a production car capable of operating by itself without human support is still a long way off. But with initiatives like this, progress could be made faster, don’t you think?

Source | Volvo