Las Vegas, January 6, 2022 – Volvo Cars announced that it will be the first to introduce ride Pilot, an unregulated, highly autonomous driving feature to users in California. With the Highly Autonomous Ride Pilot, Volvo Cars will establish industry-leading safety standards for the next generation of electric vehicles, saving drivers time and worry, providing a more relaxed and enjoyable driving experience. Once Ride Pilot's highway safety tests have passed, Volvo Cars plans to offer subscriptions on the upcoming all-new pure-electric flagship SUV and release the all-new model later this year.
Volvo Cars will be the first to introduce ride pilots, an unregulated, highly autonomous driving feature to users in California
With software that supports remote online upgrades, as well as cutting-edge sensor configurations, Volvo Cars' next-generation automotive products will set a new safety benchmark. On the software side, Zenseact, Volvo Cars' self-driving software development company, will be developed in conjunction with Volvo Cars' internal development team from technology company Luminar. In terms of hardware configuration, the new product will be equipped with more than 20 sensors, including the advanced Iris lidar sensor from Luminar, and work perfectly with the software.
Mats Moberg, Head of Research and Development at Volvo Cars, said: "We are proud to announce that we are the first in California to provide unsupervised autonomous driving services, setting a new standard for autonomous driving in the industry while ensuring safety. Our new all-electric flagship SUV will come standard with Zenseact's new autonomous driving software and Luminar's lidar, which will help Volvo Cars continue to be an industry leader in automotive safety and autonomous driving." ”
Before rolling out to users, Ride Pilot will go through Volvo Cars' rigorous validation and testing process
Volvo Cars' upcoming pure electric SUV will come standard with these software and sensors, setting the benchmark for safety while optimising over time. Ride Pilot will not be rolled out to users until it has gone through Volvo Cars' rigorous validation and testing process. This process includes technical safety verification on roads with different conditions in different countries.
As part of the verification process, Volvo Cars has partnered with Zenseact to test autonomous driving features on Swedish roads and has conducted data collection in Europe and the United States. Volvo Cars plans to begin road testing in California* in the middle of this year, where climate, road conditions and regulatory policies provide a favourable environment for the introduction of autonomous driving.
DG Rd Anderson, CEO of Zenseact, said: "If you want to introduce an industry-leading security standard, it must be rigorously tested and validated worldwide. Zenseact autonomous driving software will play a key role in setting new industry standards and achieving zero collisions. ”
Ride Pilot means that once the autonomous driving function is activated, everything is handled by Volvo's cars, so that the owner can enjoy comfort and peace of mind. Ride Pilot frees owners from the burden of driving and has time to read, write, work, socialize and more. This feature helps to relieve mental stress during driving, especially on congested sections, allowing users to reach their destination refreshed.
Ride Pilot frees owners from the burden of driving and has time to read, write, work, socialize and more
Volvo Cars' latest pure electric SUV will be equipped with 5 radar, 8 cameras and 16 ultrasonic sensors in addition to The Luminar lidar sensor. These standard sensors provide unmatched, safe and reliable visibility and perception. The system also supports remote online upgrades, ensuring sufficient safety redundancy to enable Volvo Cars to drive autonomously safely with Ride Pilot.
Volvo Cars plans to launch in California after The Ride Pilot has passed safety verification and all the necessary approval procedures, and gradually rolls it out to other markets and regions around the world.
Austin Russell, Founder and CEO of Luminar, said: "Luminar's vision is to drive the next generation of safe autonomous driving, and with the use of this technology on the new platform of Volvo Cars products, we can foresee that this will become a reality, and volvo pure electric SUV with Luminar lidar as standard may become the safest car on the road." ”