A Sophisticated Anti-Collision System by Volvo

Gothenburg - Imagine a deserted highway in the daytime. A truck weighing 30 tons and the driver flashed a bit sleepy because monotonous path. Without realizing it, a child crossing the street. The driver did not have time to react, but the wheels of the truck to stop the rotation and stop just a few centimeters from the boy.

Although the above scenario occurs in AstaZero truck testing center in Boras, Sweden, but similar events are very likely to occur in every highway. Monotonous roads, plus drowsiness, so allowing a driver did not realize what was in front of him. Therefore, to avoid similar accidents, Volvo Trucks create an anti-collision system called "collision warning with emergency brake."

Using radar and camera, this system can detect banda-objects in front of the truck. When the system was a truck going to hit something, he would tell the driver through the alarm and warning lights. If the driver still does not react, the truck will be braked slowly, then full braking and stop the speed of objects a few centimeters in front of him.

Unlike passive safety systems such as airbags seatbelt that will works after a collision, the system is trying to prevent before the accident occurred. "Accidents often occur because the driver is less alert. Nine out of ten accidents occur due to human factors, so we need the active system which gives a warning before the truck hit something, "says Carl Johan Almqvist in a talk at the office of Volvo Trucks in Gothenburg, Friday (06/26/2015).

In addition to the anti-collision system, other active systems are developed Volvo Drive Alert Support, a technology that can recognize the driver's behavior. This system will react when the driver's behavior is different from normal conditions, eg look drowsy or less alert. If you find a different behavior, the system will give a signal and a message for the driver to rest.

Other systems have also been developed to keep trucks Volvo is on track, the Lane Keeping Support and Lane Changing Support. The system is equipped with radar and camera will notify the driver if the vehicle out of the lane. These active systems are still in development and require some trial again before it can be applied to Volvo trucks. According to Almqvist, this new technology will be applied in November 2015.

"Even so, it should be remembered that this technology is not the answer to the overall driving safety. Traffic safety is not about technology alone, but also about human, "says Almqvist. "What technology can do is help the driver avoid accidents."

Almqvist hope, with a wide range of security systems, Volvo trucks will avoid accidents. "None of the Volvo truck that may be involved in an accident. It is our primary goal. People may laugh and think these things are impossible, but zero accident is the only targets that could be accepted and we will continue to strive to achieve it, "he said.