Volvo Puts People First in Autonomous Car Development

Exciting announcement by Volvo on autonomous vehicle research

‘I think it’s very cool and that the future is actually happening now’, says Smilla, the 13-year-old daughter of the Hain family in Gothenburg in Sweden. Volvo announced at the Detroit Motor Show that the Hains have been chosen to take part in an autonomous motoring project that will show how Volvo puts people first in autonomous car development. You can watch the video below of what the Hains think of this exciting and innovative project.

Volvo is taking part in the Drive Me project, a study by organisations from the public, private and academic sectors into how autonomous cars will be used by people in real life. Volvo believes that it has turned the technology-led approach of most car companies on its head by looking at how people want, need and expect an autonomous car to fit into their daily lives. The project will develop to having some 100 autonomous cars on the road in the Gothenburg area and then expand to take on participants in other countries. Volvo is already partnered with Uber on an autonomous car project and with safety company, Autoliv, to develop software for autonomous vehicles. Volvo plans to have a fully autonomous car on the road by 2021. Henrik Green, Senior Vice President, Research and Development at Volvo Car Group commented ‘We want to learn more around how people feel when they engage and disengage autonomous drive, what the handover should be like, and what sort of things they would do in the car when it’s driving them to their destination.’