It’s far some any sort of hushed secret that Volvo, apart from strong proponents and innovators in vehicle safety, are working on autonomous technology. But despite investing heavily in it, the Swedish marque believes that a more important factor in its rise will be the execution during this fragile formative period.
At the rate they’re going, Volvo will likely have one of the most advanced autonomous driving systems in the business. But their vision involves drawing clear lines in the sand and limiting the amount of control the driver can cede to it as well as the situations where the autonomous option becomes available at all.
This line of reasoning does make sense as human drivers are necessary, at least at this stage, to manoeuvre their cars through areas with dense road networks and complicated traffic patterns. That’s where it is needed most. Autonomous driving, by contrast, can be reserved for situations where driving becomes a chore, such as a long highway commute.
According to Autocar UK, Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson said that despite being technically possible, a partial system such as the one they’re close to realising in a purchasable vehicle is the best balance between convenience and safety. So confident are they in their approach that they’ve announced their take full responsibility in the event of an autonomous crash.
“We have no ambition to have a car that could drive in urban environments from A to B. If you’re a normal consumer, is that really what you are dreaming about? We believe more that in a situation where it’s not really fun to drive, you can switch on the autopilot and then sit back and do something else, using that time more productively. That is the product we are developing,” said Samuelsson.
Volvo has been particularly critical about other automakers developing autonomous technology into their vehicles, stressing that the system has to be entirely reliable and safe before offering it to the public. People’s lives are at stake.
Samuelsson added, “If you want to be in that market, you have to take that liability. If you’re not ready to do that then you must do something else. Volvo would not market something you can switch on and then relax if it’s not a redundant system which is absolutely safe and secure.”
Volvo had begun trials of its Intellisafe Autopilot system before in smaller scale tests. In 2017, however, they plan to conduct much more ambitious test: letting 100 XC90 SUVs fitted with the system be driven normally out and about Sweden. They reportedly plan to conduct similar trials in London around that same period as well as in China.
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