Volvo tests self-driving cars

Mike Bantick
Thursday, 09 December 2010 09:30

Science - Energy

Science fiction such as Minority Report and to a lesser extent, the movie version of I Robot sometimes features technology that sparks the imagination of not only the viewer but also R&D departments.  Swedish automobile manufacturer Volvo has released plans to develop a self-driving car so that we can all surf Facebook rather than waste time steering and so on.

Carsales.com.au is reporting on a new system of self-driving cars that is being developed by Volvo.

During a recent presentation of the Volvo S60's pedestrian detection and braking system in Melbourne Australia, Volvo's senior technical advisor Thomas Broberg confirmed that Volvo will begin trialling a new car 'following' system in 2011. The system would involve one lead car "driven by a professional" behind which several automated cars would follow closely, allowing the drivers of following cars to take their hands away from the wheel.

"Next year we will try this automated system on private roads and then public roads... We think this technology could be five to 10 years away," Broberg said.

It's not quite the autonomous self-drive system employed by Tom Cruise and Will Smith in their respective movies, the idea of the Safe Road Trains for the Environment (SARTRE) project is to use automated driving mechanisms of trailing vehicles to 'follow' a lead one in a very close formation.

Improving traffic flow as well as comfort and safety were some of the main aims of the project.

"The next step will be when cars communicate with each other and with infrastructure. When will that happen? Probably sooner rather than later," Broberg said.

"This leap will be driven by customer need. In the future there will be a need to stay in communication and when you get that platform and that infrastructure in place, then you can add safety technology into that. And I don't think we can even imagine what we're able to do with that," concluded Broberg.