With a magnet along ... the road
From the very beginning, Volvo has been associated not only with good quality cars, but above all with a strong focus on driving safety. Over the years, iron cars have been equipped with more and more electronic solutions to minimize the risk of a collision or accident and make traveling as enjoyable as possible. Volvo has now decided to take it one step further by offering an innovative vehicle positioning and control system that could revolutionize how they drive on the road in the near future.
When GPS doesn't work...
Engineers working for a Swedish car manufacturer decided to test the functioning of various electronic devices that could be part of a mid-range car. They took into account, including satellite navigation receivers, various types of laser sensors and cameras. After analyzing their work in various road and weather conditions, we came to the conclusion that they do not always function properly. For example: driving in dense fog or driving through a long tunnel can effectively disrupt their operation, and thus deprive the driver of the ability to safely navigate the road. So how do you ensure safe driving even in these difficult conditions? A solution to this problem could be a network of magnets placed in or under the pavement.
Directly, as if on rails
An innovative solution that can improve driving safety has been tested at the Volvo Research Center in Hallered. On a 100 m long section of the road, a row of magnets measuring 40 x 15 mm were placed next to each other, forming special transmitters. However, they did not integrate into the surface, but hid under it to a depth of up to 200 mm. In turn, for the correct positioning of cars on such a road, they were equipped with special receivers. According to Volvo engineers, the accuracy of such positioning is very high - even up to 10 cm. In practice, driving on such a road will resemble driving on a railway track. Thanks to this solution, you can effectively eliminate accidents associated with leaving your lane. In practice, this means that the system will deflect the steering wheel in the opposite direction at the moment of unauthorized crossing of the line, maintaining the current lane.
Together with (new) roads
The system offered by Volvo is easy to use and, last but not least, cost-effective. Magnets are easily installed with road reflectors on both sides of the roadway. In the case of the construction of new roads, the situation is even simpler, because magnets can be placed along their entire length even before the paving is laid. A major advantage of the innovative system is also the very long service life of its components, i.e. the individual magnets. In addition, they are completely maintenance-free. In the coming years, Volvo plans to place the magnets on major roads and then install them on all road routes throughout Sweden. It is important to note that the engineers of the iron automaker went even further. In their opinion, this decision will also allow the introduction of the so-called. autonomous vehicles. In practice, this would mean that cars could move safely without driver input. But will this solution ever be implemented? Well, today the term "self-driving car" sounds like science fiction, but tomorrow it may turn out to be quite mundane.
Added by: 8 years ago,
a photo: trafficsafe.org
