Ahead of the release of Volvo’s EX90 all-electric SUV, the OEM has unveiled details of what the new vehicle will offer in terms of the company’s latest sensing technologies to improve safety.
The EX90 has been designed to better understand the driver and the vehicle’s surroundings to keep occupants safe. Its systems improve over time and gradually become smarter and safer as the vehicle learns from data gained by spending time on the road, and as it receives over-the-air updates.
On the exterior of the car, advanced cameras, radars and lidar work in collaboration to provide the EX90 with a 360° view of its surroundings in real time. The vehicle’s lidar can sense the road ahead – including objects and people – day and night to conduct the necessary procedures when navigating roadways, such as avoiding collisions. The entire system is powered by Volvo’s proprietary core computing platform and software.
Volvo estimates that its new sensor suite can reduce accidents that result in serious injury or death by up to 20%. Furthermore, the company believes it can improve overall crash avoidance by up to 9%.
Moving to the interior, the EX90 benefits from sensors and cameras to detect eye gaze concentration levels. Volvo’s algorithms can detect when a driver is tired or distracted and will alert the occupant by nudging that will gradually become more insistent if the system deems the driver to still be distracted. The vehicle can also stop safely and call the emergency services if a driver is ill or falls asleep at the wheel.