We’d say that constitutes a weighty vote of confidence in the automaker’s autonomous tech – and if self-driving systems really are almost ready for public consumption, this is exactly the sort of push that might get regulating agencies and auto buyers on board.
Advertisement
Volvo’s upcoming autonomous driving function is called Intellisafe Auto Pilot and it is expected to feature on a hundred XC90 SUVs for its 2017 autonomous driving project entitled, “Drive Me” in Gothenburg, Sweden. Along with the message, lights on the steering-wheel paddles will start flashing when the vehicle enters a route where autonomous driving is available. Samuelsson worries that if lawmakers don’t act swiftly to enact such regulations that the US could lose its position as a leader in autonomous driving technology development. There are still obvious limitations in the system itself, but there’s plenty of time for the auto company to make improvements and eventually create technology that will eventually allow steering-wheel free driving. By pulling both paddles simultaneously the driver can switch modes. The lights on the paddles then change to constant green and Auto Pilot confirms that the driving and the supervision has been delegated to the vehicle. A sixty-second countdown is displayed. The first step to activating Auto Pilot is to program the end destination in the navigation system, so the vehicle knows exactly where it will go – and where the driver can take over.
Should drivers fail to do so within that one minute window, the vehicle will safely pull over to a stop on its own.
In a speech at the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C., Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson declared that when its cars are in full autonomous mode, the company will accept all liability.
Advertisement
The “Drive Me” project in Gothenburg stretches approximately 50 km on selected roads.
