Volvo's amazing new technology

 
This is how Volvo's amazing new technology works:

• Radar scanner in the car’s front grille scans the road ahead for hazards.
• Camera in front of the rear-view mirror photographs the hazard.
• In the blink of an eye computer compares the hazard’s shape and size against thousands of catalogued images – checking whether it is a cyclist, pedestrian, or motorbike for example -  and 'keeps an eye' on the object.
• Cyclist veers suddenly or wobbles on a collision course into path of car.
• Driver gets two simultaneous warnings. A loud alarm sounds in the car and a row of flashing red lights is projected from the top of the dashboard via a fighter-pilot-style 'head-up display' on to the windscreen.
• Car automatically activates full braking power 'as a last resort'. Until this point – and afterwards - the driver still has full control.

• In the blink of an eye computer compares the hazard’s shape and size against thousands of catalogued images – checking whether it is a cyclist, pedestrian, or motorbike for example -  and 'keeps an eye' on the object.

Volvo spokesman Duncan Forrester said: ’The high-resolution camera makes it possible to spot the moving pattern of pedestrians and cyclists.

‘The radar scans the area in front of the car. Once it has detected an object, the camera confirms that it is a vehicle, a bicycle or a pedestrian and it "keeps an eye" on the object.

‘If the situation becomes critical and in collision-course with the object a red warning flashes in the windscreen and the car activates full braking power automatically.’

The system is called ‘Cyclist Detection with full auto brake’ – but has already been dubbed ’cycle scan’ - and was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland today.

Doug Speck, senior vice president of marketing, sales and customer service at Volvo Car Group, said it was ‘a major advance’ in road safety.

All Volvo cars equipped with pedestrian detection will now also be fitted with cyclist detection, he said.

Volvo cited accident data showing that around half of all cyclists killed in European traffic have collided with a car – a situation which the firm’s new technology aims to counter-act.


Volvo, which sold 40,000 new cars in the UK last year, said it will be available ’from Mid May in 2013’ in the Volvo V40, S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 models as part of a more general ‘driver support’ safety package costing £800.

A Volvo spokesman said the system was designed to deal with scenarios such as ‘a cyclist in the same lane swerving out in front of the car’, someone wobbling and not paying attention, or taking evasive action to avoid a pot-hole.