Automotive technology. IT look

Introduction

I already published this article on another resource ( autolynch.ru ), but I can not share it with the Habr community. When I wrote it, I chose a car maker like Volvo and tried to collect in one post bit by bit all the information about the most advanced technologies that they invented and will be introduced into cars in the next 10 years.
By 2020, no one will die in a Volvo car. Think about it for a second. Even for a company that prioritizes safety, such as Volvo, this is an almost impossible task. But this is what she seeks.


Every year, 1.3 million people worldwide die on the roads and between 20 and 50 million are injured. According to the World Health Organization, 92% of these deaths occur in low- or middle-income countries. By the way, these countries account for 53% of all registered cars.
The main problem is that the European Union seeks to reduce vehicle emissions, and this makes automakers make the car easier, which can badly affect the impact resistance. The solution proposed by Volvo experts is to develop machines that take into account the environment. Their message is clear: Volvo wants to develop cars that are less likely to get into an accident than make cars that will better protect the driver and passengers in the event of an accident. As one of the Volvo employees joked: “We can make cardboard cars, but they will still be very safe.”
This philosophy is nothing new. It originates from the City Safety function, which was developed by Volvo in 2007, and allows you to avoid accidents, or minimize damage when driving in the city (at speeds up to 50 km / h). What else will Volvo come up with to develop this idea?



The long-term goal is the development of fully autonomous cars. But Volvo recognizes that there are still many obstacles to this that need to be overcome, not least related to legislation and infrastructure, although the technologies to do this already exist. A series of technical demonstrations showed that Volvo cars are able to move, stop, and avoid obstacles, both during the day and at night. Volvo is also developing a technology that allows the car to self-park, as well as return to the pre-designated collection point by pressing a button on your smartphone.
One has only to remove the weakest link in the process of driving - the driver - and the roads will become the safest place, Volvo experts say.
Most of the new technologies will appear in the second generation of the XC90, but the most advanced technologies in the next 10 years are unlikely to become available to customers. Volvo warns that the technologies providing the most security will fly into a pretty penny, but most of these functions use already existing hardware (in other words, “iron”). The whole essence of innovation is the software that connects these components. Most of them use standard cameras and radar systems - even a night-time pedestrian detection system, and this avoids the use of expensive systems with infra-red cameras with a wide range of exposure.
The technology is designed to be cheap, and Volvo is already getting a good profit from licensing new developments. But the question is: will super-efficient brands targeting low-purchasing markets, such as Dacia, Tata or Maruti, be suitable for such technologies?
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Animal detection

In Sweden, 50,000 accidents involving animals are recorded every year. Of these, 6,000 are accounted for by collisions with elks (and this animal reaches two meters in height and can weigh half a ton). When colliding with a moose, the legs of the animal are not strong enough for the shock absorbing process to start in the hood of the car, so the full force of the impact falls on the front struts. The system, developed by Volvo, reveals the danger within 500 milliseconds and starts braking, thus avoiding a collision with an animal, or reducing the speed to a value at which the front struts can withstand the impact and protect passengers. The system was "trained" by photographs of animals.

Determining the edge of the road or bump and taxiing assistance

According to statistics collected by Volvo, 25% of accidents occur due to the exit of the car from the road. Of these, two thirds occur at speeds of over 70 km / h. In fact, from the next generation, the machines will be equipped with devices that scan the edges of the road. In the event that the driver approaches the edge of the road, the car will automatically adjust the trajectory in the opposite direction and brake if necessary. This option will appear in the next generation XC90.

Pedestrian Warning in the Dark

Many manufacturers have their own systems for determining pedestrians at night, but Volvo is going to become the first manufacturer to combine it with a braking system. The complex, which will be offered in XC90 2014, will use the camera and many other options that allow you to work on a clear day and with poor headlights lighting. The use of expensive infrared cameras has been avoided. The system issues an audio warning before braking. It is able to recognize pedestrians and cyclists.

Interaction between machines

The standardized protocol of interaction will not be agreed upon until at least 2016, but cars that can “communicate” with other cars and road elements have a million advantages. The technology based on data transfer via Wi-Fi allows the driver to offer the optimum speed, to always drive to the "green", issue warnings if the car slowed down (even if it is not in sight), or warn about obstacles on the road (repair work or broken cars).

Automatic parking

This is one of the main points in Volvo's ambitions to create autonomous cars: a car that can park itself and then return to the owner. As soon as the parking lots will be able to transmit information about the number of empty seats, it will be possible to leave the car in a special place, after which the car will itself look for free space and park there. The application on the car owner's phone will receive a notification that the car is parked. And by clicking on another button, the car itself will return to the owner.