Sweden: Volvo Cars previews future safety technology
Friday, December 14, 2007, AutomotiveWorld.com
Volvo Cars has announced a new automatic braking system to avoid pedestrians, automatic steering to prevent head-on collisions and communication between cars to reduce traffic pile-ups. Each new technology is currently in the prototype stage, with production planned for all three.
"Today we need to focus on technologies that predict and prevent accidents from even occurring. It is important to understand that collisions are not inevitable. Preventive safety is all about helping and supporting the driver to avoid accidents," says Jonas Ekmark, the manager for preventive safety at the Volvo Safety Center in Gothenburg.
The first of the three systems, Collision Warning with Auto Brake - Pedestrian, helps the driver to 'see' people. It uses radar technology with a wide-angle search area to detect objects in front of and around the car.
As the vehicle approaches a pedestrian, a red warning light will illuminate on a head-up display and a warning signal will sound. If the risk of a collision increases further, assisted panic braking is activated. If the driver still doesn't brake, and a collision is imminent, the car is braked automatically. Volvo claims the latter can reduce the car's speed by up to 15mph, preventing contact in many cases.
Collision Avoidance by Auto Steering, the second new technology, is a further development of Lane Departure Warning and uses a camera to monitor the car's position between lane markers. In the existing system, if the vehicle wanders across a lane without the indicator having been activated, the driver is warned by an audible signal.
Collision Avoidance by Auto Steering is significantly more advanced, the company states. It is designed to help prevent a frontal collision caused by temporary distraction. This it does by using both a camera and radar to monitor the position of the car itself and the oncoming traffic.
If the vehicle is about to move into the wrong lane and the system detects that an oncoming vehicle is on a collision course, the car is automatically steered back to a safe position in the original lane.
The third experimental safety device, Vehicle to Vehicle Communication, involves a number of test vehicles that warn each other of danger ahead, such as a stranded car around a blind corner. Volvo's research shows that for communication to work, OEMs and suppliers must co-develop this technology.
"With communication between vehicles, and between vehicles and the traffic environment, a large number of today's accidents could be avoided. The major challenges are to find a standard 'language' and the particular applications that are most urgent and effective," Jonas Ekmark states.
Published on Friday, December 14, 2007
Free e-newsletters
Our free E-Newsletter service is an excellent way of staying up to date with news and features from around the global auto industry.
