Volvo inches closer to its safe-car target

Volvo had set a target for itself to make cars by 2020 that don't seriously injure or kill passengers or pedestrians, in case of an accident. The carmaker has now developed a new safety feature that locates collision-free escape routes, helping the company take final steps towards realising its vision.

The four-year Non-Hit Car and Truck project will end in December. Its biggest achievement will be the development of the next-generation sensor fusion technologies that provide a seamless 360 degree view around a car.

The project has focused on developing new car technologies and improving existing ones in order to reduce accident risks for both, passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

One of the challenges of the project was to build a single cohesive sensor detection system that would share information from various technologies, namely, cameras, radar, GPS, and so on. Something like this had never been attempted before.

For this, a Sensor Fusion framework was created through which a complete 360 degree view of the environment can be intercepted, and any potentially threatening objects that the driver may miss otherwise can be perceived.

The 360 degree view is enhanced by a manoeuvre generator, a new safety feature that uses software to identify collision free escape routes in every traffic scenario. The system, which works by constantly analysing threats around the car, can even assist drivers with auto-braking and steering.

 “Volvo Cars is definitely on the front line when it comes to innovative active safety research and development. 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,” says Anders Almevad, Project Manager for the Non-Hit Car Project at Volvo Cars.