Volvo’s most autonomous car yet

A self-parking car and a car that drives itself (albeit under certain conditions) were among the tech on display, rounded out by new detection systems for animals, pedestrians at night, road edges and barriers, as well as a behind-the-scenes car-to-car communication system

Gizmag took a trip to Gothenburg to see six pieces of autonomous driving technology demonstrated by Volvo on Tuesday. A self-parking car and a car that drives itself (albeit under certain conditions) were among the tech on display, rounded out by new detection systems for animals, pedestrians at night, road edges and barriers, as well as a behind-the-scenes car-to-car communication system. All are positioned as pieces of safety technology, Volvo’s goal being that no one will die or be seriously injured in a new Volvo come 2020. But it’s also clear that Volvo is deadly serious about full autonomy, and given that some of the tech Gizmag saw will be on the market next year, a driverless future feels closer today than it did when the week began. But it’s a future that will take some getting used to …

Talking to Gizmag on Monday, Toscan Bennett Volvo Vice President of Product Planning & Management explained that, according to WHO figures, 1.3 million people are killed and 50 million injured every year on the world’s roads. Were driving fatalities a disease, they would be an epidemic comparable to malaria or tuberculosis. But where improving vehicle safety once concentrated on the roll cage and the crumple zone – necessary if not sexy technology – the focus now is on eliminating driver error. “Autonomous driving is the end game,” Bennett said at the Stora Holm traffic training center the following day, pointing out that humans are responsible, in whole or in part, for 90 percent of road accidents today. And yet in many of the technologies shown on Tuesday, the driver retains overall control. Whether or not you see that as a good thing will depend on your technological and anthropological world views.

Claimed to be one of four world first technologies on show on Tuesday,Volvo’s autonomous parking was, in one sense, the exceptional technology of the day in that its focus is on convenience more than safety. Though self-parking tech could conceivably reduce the occurrence of minor prangs, the real draw here is the ability to have your motor drop you off at a designated spot before parking itself, and coming to pick you up again when summoned via smartphone app.

Like all the technology on show on Tuesday, autonomous parking will make use of what will become a standard set of sensors in Volvos from next year. The ultrasound and laser-based collision detection systems present in Volvo’s City Safety system (and similar technologies from other makers) will be complemented by both an improved camera vision systems and radar, all wired up to a computer. In production models, that computer will be roughly the size of a cigarette packet, though the prototypes on show on Tuesday were typically packing a trunk-load of electronics. The car’s pedals, gears, steering and brakes have all been adapted for automation.

There’s more work to be done, however. The prototype’s cameras, radars and collision sensors performed admirably, with the car neatly reversing into a space between two parked cars, and stopping safely when confronted with other moving vehicles and pedestrians (well, manikins on skateboards). But Volvo’s prototype was preloaded with GPS data to identify the position of the parking spaces and pick-up points themselves, a luxury that won’t be afforded in the wild. This suggests that there is more work to be done with the visual recognition system, as Volvo is adamant that autonomous parking will need to work with minimal effort on the part of car parks. It realizes that true autonomous parking needs to work with paint markings and signposts, not transmitters or magnetic infrastructure.

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