Imagine a situation in which a distracted driver walking towards a red traffic light momentarily crashes into another vehicle passing through an intersection when the light is green.
Now, imagine these two vehicles can communicate with each other and stop before colliding. It’s Volvo’s dream.
Thomas Broberg, senior technical advisor at Volvo Automotive Safety Center, says auto expert that Volvo is working with government and industry to formalize a communication protocol.
“There is a lot of dialogue about standardization going on in the industry and also within government. So how do we communicate with each other,” said Mr. Broberg.
“I think the difficult part from an OEM perspective is that you have different markets, different approaches, and of course from an OEM perspective, it’s easier for us if it’s harmonized, but usually Europeans… Americans and Chinese, they are often different.”
Mr. Broberg acknowledged that while the government is pushing the agenda, it’s the item the entire industry wants to push.
Deadly collisions have widespread consequences not only for those involved in collisions but also for first responders, the medical costs associated with caring for injured drivers and the cargo. costs associated with insurance premiums and repair procedures.
“We are providing our input, but normally governments are pushing it and they have a good agenda. I mean, like I said, it’s a social problem. And it’s also an economic problem, to have people die and get injured in traffic. “It’s very expensive because it’s not only painful for individuals, but it’s also very expensive,” Broberg said.
Most new cars, especially high-end vehicles, are connected to the cloud in some way and include pretty accurate waypoint data, so it shouldn’t be too hard to see a future. world where that data is transmitted fast enough to prevent a possible fatal accident.
It will be a game changer for the car industry, especially when it comes to autonomous vehicles.
Mr. Broberg mused that if cars never existed and someone came up with the concept of cars tomorrow, communication protocols like this would certainly be one of the first goals before the car. The first car appeared on the road.
“Today, if I go to any authority in the world, and I go and say I have this amazing new invention for personal mobility, it’s called umbrella. Bowl. It has four wheels and you can drive it yourself. It does one thing, though. It would kill 30,000 Europeans every year. Do you think that would be allowed? Probably not,” he said.
“If we consider any other type of consumer good that we have today, that is unacceptable, but in road traffic, over the years, we have accepted that There are risks involved although the risks are very small.
“The risk is there. And if you look at the pure numbers, it will amaze you. So to create that awareness, I think is important and that’s why these statements are important.”
