Volvo is a manufacturer on a mission to make their cars the safest in the world. They try to push the technology forward more than any other manufacturer, and at this year’s edition of the Geneva Motor Show, they revealed a unique new safety system.
It is called cyclist detection, but aside from doing the obvious (detect cyclists), it can also bring the car to a halt all on its own, if the sensors pick up a in imminent threat.
This is achieved through its integration into a car’s Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system, which up until now had been calibrated to react only to large moving objects (cars and trucks) or pedestrians.
Volvo says that they will be adding more and more features to their AEB-reliant safety systems and the ultimate goal, while not stated outright, is to make their cars virtually avoid most crashes.
The cyclist detection system will be added to the standard list of safety features found on all new Volvos built after May of 2013.
However, one question bugs us: What happens when you drive one of these cyclist-detecting cars in Beijing, China, where we know for a fact that there are 9 million bicycles? Will it simply refuse to move, with smoke billowing out of its electronic brain?
By Andrei Nedelea
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