Volvo Announces ‘Unsupervised’ Autonomous Driving
Swedish luxury brand Volvo Announces ‘Ride Pilot,’ an advanced autonomous driving system that they call ‘unsupervised.’
Many drivers still don’t feel too comfortable with autonomous driving in this ever-changing automotive world. However, all systems currently available on consumer vehicles require drivers to watch over the vehicle actively. Meaning, the car uses alert systems and steering wheel detection systems to determine if the person behind the wheel is actively paying attention to their surroundings. While the currently available systems on Volvo cars are nothing short of astounding, they also fall into the aforementioned category. The car will constantly remind you to keep your eyes on the road without minor inputs from the user. However, it seems that may not be the case for long.
In a recent press release, Volvo announced Ride Pilot, its new fully-autonomous driving mode. Advertising it as “unsupervised,” Volvo first intends to offer it to customers in the state of California. They add that once this feature is proven safe for use on public highways, it’s designed as an add-on subscription to its new yet-to-be-announced all-electric SUV.
Two Dozen Sensors, Constant WatchÂ
“Ride Pilot aims to free up more time for customers and make driving a Volvo even more convenient and enjoyable,” says Volvo in its press release.
It’s a little ironic, though. We find most enthusiasts enjoy driving the most when they’re, well, driving. At any rate, this is fascinating technology and undoubtedly carries Volvo’s iconic legacy of tradition into the future.
The Ride Pilot system uses over 20 sensors to monitor the vehicle’s surroundings. Included in this set of sensors is the Iris LiDAR system from Luminar, a technology partner of Volvo. Data collected from the sensors is processed by autonomous driving software created by Volvo engineers in conjunction with Zenseact, a company specializing in autonomous driving technology.
“We are proud to announce the planned US launch of our first truly unsupervised autonomous driving feature, as we look to set a new industry standard for autonomy without compromising safety,” said Mats Moberg, head of research and development at Volvo Cars.
Volvo Ride Pilot for Public Roadways
Volvo will be rolling out test vehicles on California roadways once they’ve obtained all necessary approvals.
Of course, Volvo does not intend to do ground-level testing on public roadways. These systems have been under rigorous testing in Sweden. Not to mention, like everything else in terms of safety with Volvo, we can only imagine the amount of testing done and scenarios planned for before it ever went to roadways.
“By using Ride Pilot, drivers will be able to free up time while driving, and spend it on secondary activities like reading, writing, working or socializing,” says Volvo.
It’s a bit odd to use these tasks as sales points. After all, all we’ve ever known is not to do any of those things when behind the wheel. Certainly, it will take some getting used to. Ultimately, though, we look forward to this and further monumental technology advancements throughout the automotive industry!
Photos: Volvo