Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has launched its "Drive Me" project, which it dubbed as the "world's most ambitious and advanced public autonomous experiment."
The test drive occurred in Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city. The car company selected several families to test its XC90 models in the most popular routes of the city at an average speed of 70 km/h.
The autonomous cars in the "Drive Me" project use the Intellisafe Auto Pilot and Sensus, considered as Volvo's most advanced autonomous technology. With the Sensus technology, the XC90 can intelligently interact with its surroundings. This is an extension of the Pilot Assist system which is already in some of Volvo cars.
A closer look at the XC90 reveals that it is equipped with four surround radars and cameras, each of which has a 140-degree view and three long-range radars with a 150-meter range. It also has a long-range scanner with a 130-degree field of view and ultrasonic sensors around the vehicle. Aside from that, it comes with a 3D cloud-based digital map which is updated in real-time.
As expected, the self-driving cars will have hands-off and feet-off capabilities which can be set off in special zones around the city in order to collect data and feedback which Volvo will use to improve its system.
With all the other car manufacturers racing to make their own autonomous car, Volvo aims not only to promote safety but also to add the "dimension of time" into their "Drive Me" project.
"We are focusing customer value with autonomous driving. One of the main offers we can give our customers is the possibility to safely use the lost time during commuting. This means that we have to push for legislation and awareness that our drivers shall not be responsible when the car is in autonomous driving mode, " said Marcus Rothoff, Volvo Cars' Autonomous Driving Programme Director.
