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Carsales Staff24 Sept 2012
NEWS

Volvo takes human factor out of driving distractions?

Young 'uns can't 'connect' in the car, Swedish manufacturer's research has established
The temptation to send a quick text to your BFF is just too hard to ignore, it seems, even if you're driving at the time. It's the same with receiving a mobile phone call or even reaching for one of those plain-packaged ciggies.
That's why Volvo's work in the field of autonomous driving safety is so important. Drivers can't be trusted to focus solely on the job at hand. We all know that there are clear safety implications in favour of reducing distractions in a car, but vehicle buyers won't buy a car without at least the opportunity to be distracted, whether by phone connectivity, satellite navigation or trip computer readouts. It's a Catch-22 situation that Volvo feels is best handled by approaching it from the opposite direction: Rather than reducing distractions, reduce the driver's importance in vehicle guidance. That way, they can text, chat and even read the paper – while the car is following the vehicle in front. 
Volvo, a strong supporter of autonomous driving safety has been one of the partners (and the only car manufacturer) involved in the European SARTRE project (Safe Road Trains for the Environment). The road train concept underpinning the project is embryonic, judged against the self-aware cars of science fiction, but the testing has yielded results that are encouraging... encouraging enough for Volvo to anticipate it could lead the industry into a future of automated cars.
"Our aim is to gain leadership in the field of autonomous driving by moving beyond concepts and pioneering technologies that will reach the customers,” says Marcus Rothoff, Product Attribute Manager, Driver Assistance at Volvo Car Corporation. “Making these features reliable enough to use on public roads is crucial to boosting customer confidence in self-driving cars."
"Hardly anyone thinks twice about being in an airplane that flies on autopilot. But being in a car that drives by itself while the driver reads a book is still quite a revolutionary thought for many people," says Mr Rothoff. 
Promoting the convenience of autonomous driving, rather than boring old safety, is a lateral solution to the kind of resistance car manufacturers might encounter from drivers. But Volvo cites research collated by JD Power earlier this year, revealing that nearly 50 per cent of drivers between the age of 18 and 37 would "definitely or probably" buy a vehicle capable of autonomous driving. Perhaps, the research indicates, drivers in that age group are more open to taking the drudgery out of driving because it frees them up to make phone calls, text or update Facebook.
Offering the technology to create more 'quality' time for private vehicle users makes the enhanced safety almost a by-product rather than the primary desired outcome. 
"Teenagers look at cars with different, less traditional eyes than we, their parents, do," said Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby during a conference earlier this year. "[While] we regard the driver's seat as a symbol for freedom and mobility, they see the only place where they can't be constantly connected. And many of them think that this constant connectivity is more important than having a driver's licence and a car."
"This view is an exciting challenge for Volvo Car Corporation. We must design intelligent cars that take over the driving while you focus on something else. Such as sending a text or communicating on Facebook," Stefan Jacoby continued. "Personally, I am convinced that the majority of tomorrow's car owners will not even dream of buying a car without autonomous driving possibilities."
Volvo claims that autonomous driving, made realistic and viable, would not only be a 'luxury' feature as well as a safety feature, it could also reduce global fuel consumption and shorten travel times by improving traffic flow. According to the manufacturer the technology offers the prospect of fuel use reduced by as much as 50 per cent in some situations. SARTRE relies on lane keeping and active cruise control technology for each vehicle to stay part of the train. 
"Our first generation of this advanced technology focuses on driving in queues at low speeds. The car follows the vehicle in front in the same lane. However, it is always the driver who is in charge. He or she can take back control of the car at any time," says Marcus Rothoff.
Ricardo UK Ltd leads the project, with other partners comprising Applus+, IDIADA and Tecnalia of Spain, Institut für Kraftfahrzeuge (ika) of the RWTH Aachen University of Germany, and SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Volvo Car Corporation and Volvo Group of Sweden.
The system has been successfully tried at speeds up to 90km/h and with as little as four metres of braking distance separating the vehicles. It's the short separation that optimises fuel use, with the significance of aerodynamic drag reduced. And since the system is less prone to the human fallibility of significantly varying speeds, there's more fuel saved, by the reduced call for acceleration and deceleration. Volvo claims that the lower variance in speed can reduce energy needs by 10 to 20 per cent. 
In the latest development, Volvo has come up with a prototype HMI (Human Machine Interface) featuring a touchscreen to accept instructions from the driver – including joining or leaving the convoy. All the vehicles involved communicate with each other to facilitate safe transitions from one environmental element to another.
Volvo is also investigating other autonomous concepts – parking for instance. Beyond just today's parking assistance systems that will parallel park cars, with the driver modulating brake, accelerator and gear selection, Volvo wants to introduce a fully-automated system that will go park itself after dropping the driver at the door. Don't laugh, it beats running a hundred metres in pouring rain after stepping out of the car...
Read more about SARTRE here.

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