London, United Kingdom (AHN) – Swedish car maker Volvo is in the final phase of developing an intelligent car that will detect a pedestrian in front of it and automatically grind to a halt.
A leading British newspaper reported that the technology, which uses an integrated system of radars and cameras, keeps a lookout for pedestrians and vehicles in front of the car and sends commands to the braking assembly, which immediately bring the car to a halt.
A company official said that the vehicle had been designed to “save lives on urban streets”. The system gets activated at a speed of 22 mph, and Volvo claimed the technology remains active at all speeds.
Statistics show that nearly 14 per cent of those who die in car mishaps in Europe are pedestrians, while the figure in the United States is 11 per cent.
Company officials claimed that in the event of an impending collision, the system firsts sends an audio alert to the driver, and if he doesn’t heed, emergency brakes are automatically applied.
The technology is ineffective in bad weather and at night. Volvo, however, pointed out that the onus to drive the car safely was the sole responsibility of the driver.
Volvo claimed that the system would help reduce pedestrian mortality by nearly 20 per cent, adding that the number of those grievously injured would drop by almost 30 per cent. “In a further 30 per cent of incidents, a collision would be entirely avoided,” a Volvo official said.
Almost all the high-end Volvo models, such as Volvo XC60, S60 and V60 among others, will have the optional system.
View full post on Economy, Business And Finance Stories
March 3rd, 2011 
davidguide 
Posted in 
Tags: 
