Cloud-based service may be a general safety pointer to future
In an innovation that may presage a future direction in road safety involving new vehicles, Volvo Trucks and Volvo Cars have announced machine-to-machine contact between their respective vehicles.
Volvo Trucks is introducing a cloud-based service, Connected Safety, which allows Volvo trucks and Volvo cars to automatically alert each other to hazardous traffic situations.
Volvo Trucks will initially introduce Connected Safety this year on new trucks in Sweden and Norway, where both firms account for a significant proportion of annual new-vehicle registrations.
Explaining how it work, the pair says that when the hazard warning lights are switched on, the truck sends a signal via the driver’s internet-connected mobile phone to Volvo Trucks’ cloud service.
From there the information is forwarded to the corresponding service at Volvo Cars.
An alert is then transmitted to all connected cars and trucks approaching the location of the vehicle whose hazard lights have been activated.
Connected Safety is applicable to Volvo Trucks’ FH16, FH, FM and FMX equipped with its integrated system for services and infotainment, depending on the truck’s specification and choice of services.
Volvo Cars offers Connected Safety with all new XC60, XC90, XC40, S90, V60 and V90 models.
“Connected Safety breaks new ground in vehicle-to-vehicle communication by sharing real-time information on hazardous traffic conditions between Volvo trucks and Volvo cars sharing the same road,” Volvo Trucks Australia vice president Mitch Peden says.
“It is exciting to see Volvo in Sweden and Norway leading the way with this new innovation, which gives other markets the opportunity to see how the technology might be put to use elsewhere.
“We are focused on developing new technology that is seamless, easy to use, and makes the world’s roads safer for our drivers and other road users.
“Connected Safety demonstrates Volvo’s ongoing commitment towards a future with zero accidents involving a Volvo truck.
“Volvo has always been for safety, ever since 1959 when we invented the three-point seatbelt and shared the patent with other manufacturers to help make the roads safer.
“Connected Safety takes us another step forward on Volvo’s journey towards safer roads, and we look forward to seeing the benefits it brings to all road users.”
The passenger-car version of Connected Safety was launched by Volvo Cars in 2016 and, according to the two independent vehicle manufacturers, the collaboration is possible because they share safety-related data between their respective clouds.
“Expanded cooperation between different players is one of the most important keys to improved road safety,” Volvo Trucks traffic and product safety director Carl Johan Almqvist says.
“If more vehicles are able to exchange real-time information about the traffic situation, it will lower the risk of accidents.
“With Connected Safety we are opening the door to the future, with the hope that more vehicle manufacturers will join in.”
Connected Safety was developed to send out alerts to nearby vehicles connected to the service whenever a driver activates the vehicle’s hazard warning lights.
“A vehicle standing still by the roadside in poor visibility risks being hit from the rear, which can have severe consequences,” Almqvist explains.
“An alert issued well in advance gives all drivers of nearby cars and trucks the same opportunity to reduce speed, adjust their driving to the traffic situation and avoid a collision.”
In the longer term, the cloud-based service can be expanded with additional safety-enhancing functions the two firms say.
“As the technology undergoes further refinement and more vehicles are linked to the system, real-time information will become an important complement to the various intelligent safety and driver support systems found in our trucks today,” Volvo Trucks customer solutions and new services development director Emanuele Piga says.
“Connected Safety marks the start of a new phase in our ongoing drive to promote safe driving and prevent accidents.”