By 2020 no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car.

With the development of a new safety feature that locates collision-free escape routes, Volvo Cars has taken one of the final steps towards realising its vision that by 2020 no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car.

In December, the four-year Non-Hit Car and Truck project will draw to a close, leaving as its crowning achievement the development of next-generation sensor fusion technologies that provide a seamless 360° view around a car.

A Swedish collaboration between academia, various institutions and industry, the Non-Hit Car and Truck project has focused on developing new technologies and improving existing ones in order to reduce accident risks for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

Unparalleled 360° view around the car – sensor fusion

One of the project’s challenges was to build one cohesive detection system out of a number of discrete sensors installed around the car, something that has never before been accomplished. This required the development of a centralised Sensor Fusion framework to enable the various technologies – cameras, radar, lidar, GPS, etc.— to share information efficiently.

Through this framework, the system is able to provide a complete 360° view of the environment and perceive any potentially threatening objects that drivers would otherwise not be able to see. By focusing on viable automotive sensors, the project has taken a big step in making this new technology a reality in the near future.

Generating collision-free escape routes – threat assessment

The 360° view is enhanced by the manoeuvre generator, a new safety feature that uses software to identify collision-free escape routes in all traffic scenarios. The system, which works by constantly analysing threats around the car, can even assist drivers with auto-braking and steering. To illustrate how the 360° view and manoeuvre generator work together, the project has built two test vehicles.