Driving tomorrow

ARE WE ABOUT TO GIVE UP OUR HARD-WON INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS TO AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES? YES AND NO. THOUGH IT’S TRUE THAT VOLVO’S DRIVE ME – AND OTHERS LIKE IT – WILL TAKE US TANTALISINGLY CLOSE TO A BREAKTHROUGH IN PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF A FULLY SELF-DRIVEN CAR,

By 2030, it’s estimated, half of all new cars will be fully autonomous. Think about it: million upon million vehicles on our roads, all of them humming along (they will probably be electric) without any human intervention. Here’s the thing: today, right now, the car in the lane next to you already has significant elements of self-driving ability. Some of them, given the right circumstances, are even capable of semi-autonomous driving.

As you may have guessed, it’s not an either/or situation. Autonomous drive consists of many different elements, from automatic braking systems to engine management and GPS. We’re a lot further down the road to full autonomy than many people think; in terms of the hardware – the drivetrain, computers, connectivity – much of what we need to implement is already in place. But there are many other issues that will tax the minds of those involved in Volvo’s Drive Me, the world’s most ambitious and advanced public autonomous driving experiment, which started on 9 September.

Volvo is the industry leader in the area of automotive safety and believes the introduction of autonomous driving (AD) technology promises to reduce car accidents. Furthermore, AD technology promises to free up congested roads, reduce pollution and allows 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. 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 the Swedish company’s Gothenburg headquarters, powered by what Volvo calls the Autonomous Driving Brain. Volvo, whose name is synonymous with automotive safety ever since it invented the three-point seat belt in 1959, is pioneering the development of autonomous driving systems as part of its vision that no one will be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo by the year 2020.

The Drive Me pilot project in Gothenburg is the first in a number of planned public trials with autonomous driving Volvo cars. A similar project to the one in Gothenburg will be launched in London next year, while Volvo is also assessing bids from interested cities in China to launch a Drive Me project there within the next few years.

Volvo actively engages in strategic partnerships in the area of autonomous drive technology. Last month, it launched a new partnership with ride-sharing company Uber to develop the next generation of autonomous driving cars. Earlier this week, Volvo revealed it will set up a new jointly owned company together with leading automotive supplier Autoliv to develop next-generation AD software.

“Autonomous driving can make a significant contribution to road safety,” Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo, told a seminar in Beijing. “The sooner AD cars are on the roads, the sooner lives will start being saved.”

“There are multiple benefits to AD cars,” said Samuelsson. “That is why governments need to put in place the legislation to allow AD cars on to the streets as soon as possible. The car industry cannot do it all by itself. We need governmental help.”

Independent research has revealed that AD has the potential to reduce the number of car accidents very significantly. Up to 90 per cent of all accidents are caused by human error, something that disappears with AD cars.

In terms of congestion, AD cars allow traffic to move more smoothly, reducing traffic jams and, by extension, cutting dangerous emissions and associated pollution.

Based on an extensive analysis of potential technical faults, Volvo Cars has designed a complete production-viable autonomous driving system. The key to making this unprecedented leap is a complex network of on-car hardware sensors, cloud-based vehicle positioning and navigation systems and intelligent braking and steering technologies.

Volvo Cars’ Pilot Assist driving system is designed to be reliable enough to allow the car to take over every aspect of driving in autonomous mode. The technology advances a crucial step beyond the automotive systems demonstrated so far, since it includes fault-tolerant systems.

“It is relatively easy to build and demonstrate a self-driving concept vehicle, but if you want to create an impact in the real world, you have to design and produce a complete system that will be safe, robust and affordable,” says Dr Erik Coelingh, technical specialist at Volvo Cars. “Our fail-operational architecture includes backup systems that will ensure that Pilot Assist will continue to function safely if an element of the system were to become disabled.”

For example, the probability of an intelligent braking system failure is very small, but a self-driving vehicle needs a second independent system to brake the vehicle to a stop, as it is unlikely that the driver will be prepared to press the brake pedal.

When autonomous driving is no longer available – due to exceptional weather or environmental conditions, technical malfunction or the end of the route has been reached – the driver is prompted by the system to take over again. If the driver is incapacitated for any reason and does not take over in time, the car will bring itself to a safe place to stop.

Autonomous driving could also improve traffic flow as well as open up possibilities for better urban planning and more cost-efficient investments in infrastructure, Volvo believes. But more than that, it will fundamentally change the way we look at driving. In the future, consumers will be able to choose between autonomous and active driving, transforming the mundane everyday commute from lost time to quality time, opening up new opportunities for work and pleasure.