Volvo to launch UK autonomous driving trial

Swedish car maker Volvo Cars is to begin an ambitious autonomous driving trial next year to speed up the introduction of a technology that promises to massively reduce car accidents as well as free up congested roads and save drivers valuable time. The company is pioneering the development of autonomous driving systems globally as part of its commitment that no one will be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo by the year 2020. The test will be called Drive Me London and will differentiate itself from
April 28, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

Swedish car maker 7192 Volvo Cars is to begin an ambitious autonomous driving trial next year to speed up the introduction of a technology that promises to massively reduce car accidents as well as free up congested roads and save drivers valuable time.

The company is pioneering the development of autonomous driving systems globally as part of its commitment that no one will be seriously injured or killed in a new 609 Volvo by the year 2020.

The test will be called Drive Me London and will differentiate itself from other autonomous driving programmes by using real families driving autonomous cars on public roads.
 
Volvo will source its data from these everyday users and use this data to develop autonomous cars that are suitable for real world driving conditions, rather than the more unrealistic conditions found on test tracks. Thatcham Research will be providing the technical data analysis and any professional test drivers needed as part of the trial.

Drive Me London will begin in early 2017 with a limited number of semi-autonomous driving cars and expand in 2018 to include up to 100 autonomous cars and is expected to be the largest and most extensive autonomous driving testing programme on Britain’s streets.

“Autonomous driving represents a leap forward in car safety,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive. “The sooner autonomous cars are on the roads, the sooner lives will start being saved.”
 

“Vehicle manufacturers are predicting that highly autonomous vehicles, capable of allowing the driver to drop ‘out of the loop’ for certain sections of their journey, will be available from around 2021,” said Peter Shaw, chief executive at Thatcham Research.
 
“There are multiple benefits to AD cars,” said Mr Samuelsson. “That is why governments globally need to put in place the legislation and infrastructure to allow autonomous cars onto the streets as soon as possible. The car industry cannot do it all by itself. We need governmental help.”

Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • President Obama says V2V and V2I technology will save lives
    July 16, 2014
    US president Barack Obama has highlighted his Administration’s support for intelligent transportation systems as a job creator and high-tech solution for reducing vehicle crashes and traffic gridlock. Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) members and staff joined President Obama at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia, where the President toured the research and testing facility and delivered remarks on the importance of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicl
    Read More
  • US Congress debates autonomous vehicles
    November 20, 2013
    Emerging technologies have the potential to significantly reduce vehicle crashes and associated fatalities, according to Kirk Steudle, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation, testifying at the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. Speaking on behalf of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Steudle said, "Nothing is more exciting than the potential safety benefits of this emerging technology," said Steud
    Read More
  • Road space utilisation improves travel times, reduces costs
    February 1, 2012
    For major road works schemes, necessary lane closures are timed to minimise congestion, most frequently at night and on weekends when traffic is at its lightest. As a result, rigid timetables are used in planning, programming and implementing work. In the UK, to calculate the expected traffic demand through roads works, historic profiles from the loop-based MIDAS (Motorway Incident Detection Automatic Signalling) system were used. These provided a valuable indicator of anticipated traffic behaviour but were
    Read More
  • Safe-driver training reduces costs, increases safety
    February 3, 2012
    Hermes, one of Europe's leading home delivery specialists, and part of the Otto group's European logistics division, estimates that introducing a range of safe-driving measures in its UK operations have contributed to a US$1.5 million cost saving to the business in the 12 months to April 2010.
    Read More

Highlighted Content