Volvo looks to ITS future

Volvo Cars is currently working on new technology that allows motorists to instantly share information about potentially dangerous road conditions, such as patches of ice.

While the Scandinavian trial is currently only limited to passenger vehicles, its findings could potentially have implications for commercial vehicles, as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology develops at an ever-faster pace.

Volvo Cars is collaborating with the Swedish Transport Administration and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration to develop the system, which shares information between motorists using a cloud-based network.

Conceptually the technology is quite simple: one vehicle experiences a sudden loss of traction due to snow or ice and autonomously informs other vehicles in the area of the potential danger, while also alerting road crews so they can address the issue.

The trial is about to expand from 50 cars to 1000 cars, and will soon take in the major Scandinavian cities of Oslo and Gothenburg.

Volvo says it's moving rapidly towards its goal of rolling the technology out to customers within a few years.

According to Erik Israelsson, Project Leader Cooperative ITS (Intelligent Transport System) at Volvo Cars, the technology will further enhance road safety.

"The more information that can be shared on the road, the fewer surprises there are – and when you're driving, surprises are what you most want to avoid," he says.

"In light of that we've developed a slippery-road alert, which notifies drivers about icy patches and contributes to making winter road maintenance more efficient. We're also adding a hazard-light alert, which will tell drivers if another vehicle in the area has its hazard lights on.

"With these first two features, we have a great platform for developing additional safety features. This is just the beginning."

Israelsson says ITS technology will unlock an array of benefits for drivers in coming years.

"In the future we will have increased the exchange of vital information between vehicles, as well as between vehicles and infrastructure," he says.

"There is considerable potential in this area, including safer traffic, a more comfortable drive and improved traffic flow."