Tesla and BMW are the most known names when it comes to high-tech vehicles. But here's one silently climbing to the top-Volvo. There's just so much going on with the company's autonomous initiatives, from driverless cars to artificial intelligence to futuristic design elements.
Next year, Volvo plans to introduce its Pilot Assist II in its new vehicle S90, Tech Insider reported. It will also be available as an option for its 2017 XC90. This semi-autonomous system leaves the steering and breaking to the car on the open road with the speed of up to 80 miles per hour.
The company is also working on a pilot program called "DriveMe," which it plans to launch in 2017 so that real customers can test out the technology. The Swedish carmaker is looking into a 2020 release of its Intellisafe Autopilot to the public, where the car can drive on its own and will no longer need the supervision of the driver. The downside, however, is that the vehicle would only work in well-mapped areas.
"What is unique with DriveMe, is that we are not only building a concept car or doing demos, we are really doing research to help us understand how we can bring self-driving cars to the real world, to public roads with ordinary customers behind the wheel," said Erik Coelingh, senior technical leader for driver support technologies, via Tech Insider.
Volvo's Intellisafe Autopilot will be powered by NVIDIA's platform for self-driving cars, dubbed as "Drive PX 2." The two firms entered a partnership wherein Volvo will be able to utilize NVIDIA's deep learning computers. With NVIDIA's chips, Volvo's cars will learn different situations that will help improve its self-driving capabilities and safety.
Aside from the autonomous cars, Volvo is also investing in software technologies such as apps that will make its cars more connected. It has an On Call app, which enables the owner to easily know the details about his car such as its location, maintenance warnings, and fuel level, among others. In 2017, Volvo is slated to unveil its first commercial vehicle that will have the owner's smartphone app as its key, Tech Insider further reported.