The Swedish automobile manufacturing company Volvo Cars have been testing their self drive cars on the roads of the Swedish capital, Gothenburg.
The self drive cars are being tested by ordinary Volvo drivers on a selected 50km stretch of roads in Gothenburg. These roads are used for every day motoring and gives the latest Volvo technology an opportunity to be tested by real people in real life roads and driving conditions.
This project is known as the 'Drive Me' project and will feature 100 cars and also involves government authorities and legislators. The roads used include motorways and common commuter roads.
This technology is known as 'Autopilot' and it enables the driver to carry out tasks while the vehicle literally drives itself. This will mean that the driver will be as free to carry out such tasks as phone calls and work on their laptop, just like as if they were travelling on a train. The driver can change back to manual by the switch of a button which is located on the steering wheel.
This is what Erik Coelingh, an executive of Volvo Cars had to say about the new technology: “The tests cars are now able to handle lane following, speed adaptation and merging traffic all by themselves.”
Volvo is not the first manufacturer to produce this sort of technology but Mercedes, Audi and Nissan have already been working on such technology. It is predicted that this self drive technology will be available by 2020. Mercedes have already stated that they have driven a 100km stretch of public road in Germany on self drive.
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Have a look at the Volvo Gothenburg tests for their new self drive cars:
