Volvo collaborates on a helmet that warns cyclists about the proximity of vehicles

Every year, around the world, tens of thousands of accidents occur in which a vehicle collides with a cyclist, resulting in thousands of deaths and serious injuries. Raising awareness among drivers and cyclists is key to reducing these figures, but technology can also lend a hand with projects like the one we’re going to tell you about, in which Volvo is taking part.

Volvo, the company POC Sports and Ericsson want to build a helmet that warns cyclists and drivers of a possible risk situation so they can take action. Cyclists, through the Strava app, would publish their position to the cloud of Volvo, which wants to have a real-time updated map of the cars on the road. When a car and a cyclist are in a possible risk situation, the driver of the car would be alerted with an audible warning and the cyclist would receive a light signal on their helmet.

One of the advantages of this system is that it can work even when cyclist and driver cannot see each other, one of the main causes of accidents. On the other hand, the risk situations will need to be modelled quite accurately, especially with regard to warning the cyclist, who will be passing close to cars the whole time if they ride in the city. For vehicles it is simpler, because they normally cross paths with fewer cyclists. The usefulness of the project also depends on the number of cyclists and cars that publish their position to that map of Volvo.

Volvo is a company that has always championed safety and is already working on automatic braking systems to avoid collisions with cyclists and pedestrians. This is one more step in its effort to make roads safer, and you can see how it works in the video we’ve included below:

[jwplayer file=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR6GrZto-D8″]

Via | Volvo