MOTORING NEWS - Volvo Cars has officially kicked off Drive Me, an advanced public autonomous driving (AD) experiment. On the morning of 9 September 2016, Volvo produced the first autonomous car that will be used in the Drive Me project in Gothenburg.
The autonomous Volvo XC90 SUV was finalised in Volvo Cars' special manufacturing facility in Torslanda and is the first in a series of autonomous cars that will eventually be handed to real owners in Gothenburg to be driven on public roads.
The company says it believes the introduction of AD technology will to reduce car accidents. Furthermore, AD technology promises to free up congested roads, reduce pollution and allow drivers to use their time in their cars more valuably.
Volvo currently offers a semi-autonomous functionality called Pilot Assist on its 90 series cars.
Volvo currently offers a semi-autonomous functionality called Pilot Assist on its 90 series cars.
Pilot Assist gives gentle steering inputs to keep the car properly aligned within lane markings up to 130 km/h without the need to follow another car. The Drive Me cars will add hands-off and feet-off capability in special autonomous drive zones around Gothenburg, powered by what Volvo calls its Autonomous Driving Brain.
Customer-focused approach
It is the customer-focused approach that Volvo says sets the Drive Me project apart from other autonomous driving experiments. Instead of relying purely on the research of its own engineers, Volvo aims to collect feedback and input from real customers using these autonomous cars in their everyday lives.
Customer-focused approach
It is the customer-focused approach that Volvo says sets the Drive Me project apart from other autonomous driving experiments. Instead of relying purely on the research of its own engineers, Volvo aims to collect feedback and input from real customers using these autonomous cars in their everyday lives.
The company aims to further fine-tune its autonomous driving technologies and make its offering as relevant as possible to customers ahead of a commercial introduction around 2021.
