Making its debut at the Geneva Auto Show, the all new Volvo S60 proudly boasts its new technology: Volvo Pedestrian Detection with Full Automatic Braking.
You might be asking yourself the question, how can a vehicle know when a pedestrian is in the way? Volvo uses both radar and cameras to identify potential hazards; the information received is then relayed back to a computer which calculates whether or not emergency action must be taken.
The Volvo Pedestrian Detection system works in conjunction with Volvo’s new Collision Warning System with Full Automatic Braking to bring the vehicle to a full stop. The Collision Warning first warns the driver of danger and then should the driver fail to react when approaching a pedestrian, Volvo’s new system applies full stopping power to help avoid a collision with a pedestrian.
“Factors like traffic behavior, road conditions and climate must be taken into account in the design of the final system. All told we have collected more than 500,000 kilometers of real-life data. We can also use the information from these traffic tests to conduct advanced computer simulations,” says Thomas Broberg, senior safety adviser for Volvo.
“Our aim is that this new technology should help the driver avoid collisions with pedestrians at speeds below 25 km/h. If the car is traveling faster, the aim is to reduce the impact speed as much as possible. In most cases, we can reduce the collision force by about 75 percent. Considering the large number of pedestrian fatalities that occur, if we manage to lower the fatality risk by 20 percent this new function will make a big difference. In specific situations the fatality reduction can be up to 85 percent,” says Broberg.
Have a look for yourself:
***
More Volvo news.
