Volvo's no fatal accidents by 2020 goal gets closer with 360 view technology

Volvo’s vision of no fatal accidents or serious injuries by 2020 in a Volvo car has entered its final stages of development with 360°-view technology, a new safety feature that locates collision-free escape routes. The feature is a part of the four-year Non-Hit Car and Truck project, which will draw to a close in December this year. The project’s crowning achievement is the development of next-generation sensor fusion technologies that provide a seamless 360° view around a car.

The project involved building a cohesive detection system out of a number of discrete sensors installed around the car, a challenge that has never before been accomplished. The built required the development of a centralised Sensor Fusion framework to enable the various technologies such as cameras, radar, lidar, GPS, etc. to share information efficiently. The system is able to provide a complete 360° view of the environment through this framework and perceive any potentially threatening objects that drivers would otherwise be unable to see.

“Volvo Cars is definitely on the front line when it comes to innovative active safety research and development. And with the Non-Hit Car and Truck project, we’ve taken a significant step towards realising the vision that by 2020 no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car. 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. But going forward, we will also continue to work on developing cars that adapt to each individual driver’s unique behaviour,” says Anders Almevad, Project Manager for the Non-Hit Car Project at Volvo Cars.

The Non-Hit Car and Truck project is an endeavour started by Volvo Cars and its partners in September 2010 and will be closing in December 2014. It supports Volvo Cars’ vision that by 2020 no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car. The focus has been on developing technologies to reduce accident risks for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Partners include: Volvo Cars, AB Volvo, ÅF (sensor fusion development), HiQ (sensor fusion development, threat assessment), Mecel (sensor supplier) and Chalmers University of Technology (sensor fusion development, driver adaptation). The Non-hit Car and Truck project is associated with the SAFER Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre.