If you’re Volvo and you want to lead the way in terms of automotive safety features, you definitely need to get on top of the autonomous revolution, which is exactly what they’re doing with their ground-braking Drive Me project.
Drive Me involves 100 self-driving Volvos on the public streets of Gothenburg, Sweden, being used by families and commuters alike. This marks the first time when autonomous cars have been made available to the public for their daily use.
Volvo will share R&D info with Autoliv, as engineers and other industry experts from both companies will work together in order to push forward the introduction of active safety systems.
Hakan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars said: “We are delighted to welcome Autoliv to the Drive Me family. Autonomous driving will make our roads better and safer. The sooner we can develop the necessary technologies and start offering them in our cars the better.”
The applications for autonomous driving are already well documented. We’re talking about more efficient road usage, more economical vehicle usage, less congested streets, and of course, fewer traffic accidents, injuries and fatalities – as independent statistics suggest that over 90% of all fatal accidents are believed to be caused by human error.
A self-driving car should help steer us (pun intended) in the right direction when it comes to keeping our streets and motorways safe. “As automated driving cars evolve, human error will be significantly reduced and ultimately these cars will provide a new level of automotive safety,” said Jan Carlson, president & CEO of Autoliv.
The ‘Drive Me’ project got under way in 2013 and the first families should be on the roads of Gothenburg in 2017. That just goes to show what can happen in just 4 years when a project of this magnitude gets proper backing.
PHOTO GALLERY
