Volvo Uses Radar to Keep Pedestrians Safe

Texting while driving has become a serious problem, so much so that Oprah has joined in the crusade to curb the practice. But even if we’re not multitasking behind the wheel, tragedy can still strike. There are no real words to describe the paralyzing fear a driver experiences when a child darts in front of their vehicle chasing after a loose ball. And if drivers shouldn’t be texting while driving maybe pedestrians should refrain from the activity when crossing the street. I can’t count how many times I should have become road pizza thanks to a text message based distraction at a light I swore was mine.

While me and the pedestrians of the world sit in a corner and write “cross on the green and not in between” a thousand times, Volvo has come up with a way to keep pedestrians and drivers safe as they go about their busy day. Their latest innovation comes in the form of pedestrian detection. In the event I step out into the street in a texting haze, Volvo has created a system that brings the car to a full stop as soon as I’m detected. The car will come to a complete stop if the car is going at a slow enough clip, about 22mph or less. If the car is traveling at a higher speed the car will slow. Either way, the car will hit the brakes, even if the driver doesn’t have the reflexes to step on the brakes and save me from myself.

Utilizing a wide-angle radar, a vehicle equipped with pedestrian detection will scan the sides of the road for pedestrians. If the radar picks up a person, a camera springs into action and tracks the subject. If the person makes a move to walk in front of car, an alarm will sound alerting the driver while a light flashes in the windshield’s heads-up display.

“We are truly proud of our success in making our technology so reliable that we can offer a complete system that can avoid a collision with a pedestrian by detecting, alerting and applying full braking. It’s a world first, to the best of our knowledge. With this technology we have increased the braking force in our automatic braking system from fifty percent to full stopping power,” says Thomas Broberg, Senior Safety Advisor at Volvo Cars.”

Volvo has been showing off the tech via the sporty, four-door S60 coupe that will be making the rounds starting March 2 at the Geneva Auto Show. According to the press release, by cutting a vehicle’s speed from 30 to 15mph can “reduce the fatality risk by as much as 20 percent and in some cases by up to 85 percent.” No word on availability or pricing, but until this tech is standard in every car on the street, I’m going to try to institute a serious no texting while walking rule when I’m walking the streets of NYC.

About the Author
Sherri is a freelance writer that has a love of all things fun and geeky including gadgets, gaming, anime, and comics. When she isn't writing or out on the town living it up, she loves doing 10-12 hour marathon sessions on her Xbox 360 or one of her older consoles. It's not an addiction, it's a way of life!
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