Volvo's latest model to arrive in Australia, the S60 sedan, is bristling with technological safety features, some of which have military origins.
The Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake and Pedestrian Detection system uses a combination of radar and surveillance camera technology originally developed by the military, to help it discriminate between general road side objects and human beings. It works by warning the driver and then applying full brakes if necessary, in order to avoid a pedestrian fatality.
"We've been working on this tech for the last 15 years or so," said Thomas Broberg, Volvo's senior technical advisor at the Volvo Cars Safety Centre.
"This [technology] comes from military industries... The trick is to make it applicable to a car."
So rather than 'painting' targets with an infra-red beam and raining down military ordnance from the heavens, the intelligent detection system is designed to reduce pedestrian fatalities.
It is the latest weapon in Volvo's safety arsenal and will eventually trickle down to lesser models in the range, but the Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake and Pedestrian Detection system doesn't come cheap.
Available as an option on the all-new S60 mid-sized sedan as part of Volvo's Driver Support Pack, Pedestrian Detection adds a hefty $4990 to the bottom line.
Volvo's vision for the future is to "design cars that do not crash". The company's aim is that by 2020: "No one should be killed or injured in a Volvo".
"It's a matter of attitude," said Broberg. "Why should we allow the risk when just transporting yourself?"
Volvo's new Pedestrian Detection system does have limitations, however. It cannot detect people below 80cm in height and can only operate in the daylight.
"Will it save everyone? No it won't. There are situations where it won't help. For instance the situation where a pedestrian walks into the side of the car, we won't be able to address that. There are quite a few of these impacts," conceded Broberg.
"In 2006 we launched first generation of the forward collision warning. We had radar, we could detect if the car was to impact a vehicle moving in the same direction. In 2007 we added a camera to the technology, and were able to not only detect vehicles moving the same direction but stationary. Then we applied the brakes when the collision would occur for sure.
"In 2008 we launched CitySafety. We offered avoidance [in stop start traffic]. And now in 2010 we're able to avoid collisions with other vehicles at any speed, and in addition we have detection of pedestrians. Four generations of technology in four years," Broberg explained.
"We know 70 to 80 per cent of what we need to do next [for vehicle safety]. We have to address it from a technology perspective.
"It's a humble approach, and I would say that the S60 is another step towards our 2020 mission," he stated.
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