Volvo’s new cars to get pedestrian and cyclist detection

By tracking moving objects, a new system from Volvo could help prevent accidents. The system uses a camera embedded in a car’s rear view mirror, combined with a radar instrument in the grill to scan the road ahead. If it sees an object, an onboard computer will determine whether it is a cyclist or a pedestrian, and prepare to apply the brakes if someone swerves out into traffic or darts across road. Many cars already come with safety systems that will brake if a collision with another vehicle or a pedestria
March 28, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
By tracking moving objects, a new system from 609 Volvo could help prevent accidents.

The system uses a camera embedded in a car’s rear view mirror, combined with a radar instrument in the grill to scan the road ahead. If it sees an object, an onboard computer will determine whether it is a cyclist or a pedestrian, and prepare to apply the brakes if someone swerves out into traffic or darts across road. Many cars already come with safety systems that will brake if a collision with another vehicle or a pedestrian seems imminent. By tracking nearby moving objects, the Volvo system could prevent further accidents.

The system is said to enhance a driver’s awareness of his or her surroundings. If a driver doesn’t see a cyclist, a warning flashed on the windscreen will serve as a reminder to drive more cautiously. Augmenting drivers’ ability to monitor the road is increasingly common and it can be preferable to a system that tries to take over completely.

Volvo will demonstrate the system at this year’s New York Auto Show and says it will appear in virtually all its models from mid-2013.
Urban Traffic Control Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • NHTSA to add automatic braking systems vehicle safety features
    January 23, 2015
    US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to add two cutting-edge automatic emergency braking systems to the recommended advanced safety features included under its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) – the latest step in a half-century of safety innovations that have saved more than 600,000 lives, according to new NHTSA research. The agency plans to continue to encourage development and commercialization of additional promising saf
    Read More
  • Roadside infrastructure key to in-vehicle deployment
    November 28, 2013
    The implementation of in-vehicle systems will require multilateral cooperation, as Honda’s Sue Bai explains to Colin Sowman. Vehicle manufacturers will shape the future direction of in-vehicle ITS systems, but they can’t do it on their own. So to find out what they see on the horizon, and the obstacles they face, ITS International spoke to Sue Bai, principal engineer in the Automobile Technology Research Department with Honda R&D Americas. Not only does she play an important role in Honda’s US-based ITS
    Read More
  • Intelligent crossing points leads to safer future for pedestrians
    May 19, 2014
    An innovative project at a busy UK retail park could provide the blueprint for a new approach to pedestrian safety, according to its developers. The system utilised hard-wired active flashing LED road studs from Rennicks UK to delineate the crossing, in conjunction with LED warning signs from Swarco. Pole-mounted C-Walk pedestrian detectors from Flir activate the high performance LED studs to create a striking visual warning for motorists approaching an internal crossing at Giltbrook, near Nottingham.
    Read More
  • Allied Vision and TORC Robotics help blind driver ‘see’
    May 22, 2015
    TORC Robotics has partnered with the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) with the aim of developing vehicles for the next generation of National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Blind Driver Challenge vehicles. The NFB developed the Blind Driver Challenge which calls upon developers and innovators to create interface technologies to allow those who are blind to drive a car independently. Held at the Daytona Speedway as a pre
    Read More

Highlighted Content