Volvo has joined the growing list of automobile companies working on their own renditions of autonomous cars with its pilot project "Drive Me -- Self-driving cars for sustainable mobility."
Volvo, one of the leading automobile companies around the world, is making the headlines for testing its own self-driving cars on the public roads of Swedish city of Gothenburg. While this was an exclusive genre for Google with its highly-controversial and futuristic self-driving cars, several car companies showed interest in the subject and are also working on their own versions of these cars.
Volvo announced Monday that it is commencing a pilot project, "Drive Me -- Self-driving cars for sustainable mobility," which will test a fleet of 100 self-driving autonomous cars on city streets. The project is sanctioned by the Swedish Government and is a joint initiative between Volvo Car Group, the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency, Lindholmen Science Park and the City of Gothenburg, according to the press release.
"Our aim is for the car to be able to handle all possible traffic scenarios by itself, including leaving the traffic flow and finding a safe 'harbor' if the driver for any reason is unable to regain control," Volvo technical specialist Erik Coelingh, said in a statement. "Our approach is based on the principle that autonomously driven cars must be able to move safely in environments with non-autonomous vehicles and unprotected road users."
Volvo will start testing its first batch of self-driving cars for approximately 50 kilometers in an around the busy roads of Gothenburg. This will capture the real-time scenarios and will help the company tackle situations in a better way before going into full fledged production. Volvo will be dedicating its all-new XC90 model, which will be unveiled in 2014, for the project. These tests won't be carried out on the streets until 2017.
The cars will be designed to handle all driving functions including parking, but the company will place a driver to act instantly in the event of a technical issue.
Other car companies including Audi, Mercedes Benz, Cadillac, Ford, Nissan, Delphi, Toyota, and Tesla have shown interest in the autonomous driving technology and are likely to commence a project of their own sooner or later.
