Volvo Cars and Uber have revealed a jointly developed production car capable of driving by itself. The XC90 base vehicle comes equipped with built-in safety systems with Uber able to install its own self-driving system on top. The safety features include several back­up systems for both steering and braking functions as well as battery back­up power. If any of the primary systems should fail for some reason, the back­up systems are designed to immediately act to bring the car to a stop. 

In addition to Volvo’s built-­in back­up systems, an array of sensors atop and built into the vehicle are designed for Uber’s self-­driving system to safely operate in an urban environment.
The autonomous drive-­capable production vehicle is part of Volvo Cars’ agreement with Uber for the delivery of tens of thousands of autonomous drive­-ready base cars in coming years.

“Working in close cooperation with companies like Volvo is a key ingredient to effectively building a safe, scalable, self­driving fleet,” said Eric Meyhofer, CEO of Uber Advanced Technologies Group.

“Volvo has long been known for their commitment to safety, which is the cornerstone of their newest production­ready self­-driving base vehicle. When paired with our self­driving technology, this vehicle will be a key ingredient in Uber’s autonomous product suite.”

Source: Motor Trader E-Magazine (July 2019)

10 Jul 2019