Volvo and Uber ready for self-driving

Volvo Cars and Uber have presented a jointly developed production car capable of driving by itself, the Volvo XC90 SUV.

The two made a joint engineering agreement in 2016 and have since produced several prototypes aimed at accelerating the companies’ autonomous vehicle (AV) development.

The XC90 base vehicle is equipped with key safety features allowing Uber to easily install its own self-driving system, enabling the possible future deployment of self-driving cars in Uber’s network as an autonomous ridesharing service.

Features include several back-up systems for both steering and braking functions as well as battery back-up power. If any of the primary systems should fail, the back-up systems are designed to immediately act to bring the car to a stop.

An array of sensors atop and built into the vehicle are designed for Uber’s self-driving system to safely operate and manoeuvre in an urban environment.

When paired with Volvo’s vehicle platform, Uber’s self-driving system may one day allow for safe, reliable autonomous ridesharing without the need for a Mission Specialist, the specially trained Uber employees operating and overseeing the car in areas designated and suitable for autonomous drive.

The partnership provides for delivery of tens of thousands of autonomous drive-ready base cars in coming years, expected to start in the early 2020s.

“We believe autonomous drive technology will allow us to further improve safety, the foundation of our company,” Volvo Cars president and chief executive Håkan Samuelsson says. “By the middle of the next decade we expect one-third of all cars we sell to be fully autonomous.”

Uber Advanced Technologies Group chief executive officer Eric Meyhofer says the new vehicle will be a key ingredient in Uber’s autonomous product suite.