Ordinary Family Gets Extraordinary XC90 in Volvo Autonomous Driving Experiment
Family meets technology
Meet the Hains family, the first people enrolled in the Volvo Drive Me program, an initiative set up to analyze the interactions between humans and autonomous technologies. The Swedish family of four lives near the global Volvo headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, where the study is taking place. Appearing at the formal Drive Me kickoff in Detroit this January, the family shared that they are excited to see how their work-life balance will improve when they won’t have to worry about paying attention to the road.
Meet the Hains
“I think a self-driving car would add one thing to my life, and that’s time,” said Alex, an IT manager, husband to Paula, and father of Filippa, 16, and Smilla, 13 in an interview with Car and Driver. Because they stay busy with work and school activities, the family has high hopes for Drive Me. The program is set to follow a pre-planned, specific route around Gothenburg city in order to assure the ongoing safety of the passengers.
The vehicle of the future
The vehicle they will be using is a Volvo XC90, the company’s first fully autonomous SUV. (Volvo currently offers semi-autonomous functionality on its 90-series cars.) The Hains’ XC90 is the first of approximately 100 vehicles that will be used in the Drive Me study in Gothenburg. The XC90 models will be equipped with steering wheels and pedals, but drivers have hands-free (and feet-free) options.
The vehicles are also outfitted with seven forward and rearward-facing cameras, in addition to the regular cameras used on all Volvo autonomous vehicles. Another camera tracks the driver’s eye movements, and still another watches how the driver uses the pedals. Safety and precision were of utmost concern when designing the Drive Me technology.
Self-driving Volvo models to be available around the world
Drive Me is expected to launch later this year in Gothenburg and continue for a year. Volvo is planning similar efforts to take place in London and a few, as of yet unnamed, cities in China. While no North American projects are currently in the works, Volvo is developing its hardware in a joint project with Uber.
Volvo Cars Silver Spring cares just as much about driver safety as Volvo does, which is why we were so excited to hear about the Drive Me project. Though it isn't yet available in the US, we do have a wide variety of technologically advanced vehicles we're sure will interest you. Call, contact us online, or visit us in person today at 3121 Automobile Blvd, Silver Spring, MD 20904 to learn more about them or schedule a test drive.
Image Credit: Volvo