Although it may not sound like a big deal, it is often the case that car drivers happen to collide with cyclists on the roads around the world. There have been plenty of cases in which the drivers and cyclists end up in a quarrel between them. However, for those who seek to purchase vehicles from the Swedish automaker, Volvo, in the future, this will no longer have to be their concern.
The company is determined to ensure safety driving. In fact, the company has now come up with a unique communication system which works in a 2-way direction between a driver and a cyclist.
Volvo develops this new system by partnering with Ericsson and the POC and the plan is to show it off to the public when the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas finally takes place. So far, Volvo claims that the system will combine a smartphone and a helmet – which is currently at a prototype stage – to let car drivers know about the position of potent cyclists. If the new system thinks that a collision is imminent, based on its calculations, it will inform not only the car drivers but also the cyclists. The system is also able to do this even if the cyclists are in drivers’ blind spot.
Klas Bendrik from Volvo also points out that the company’s joint efforts with the Ericsson and POC is crucial in determining what kind of cars the company should make in the future, cars that are least likely to crash. Bendrik claims that for the moment, thanks to safety technologies based on the cloud computing system, the company is getting even better in getting rid of the blind spots that often occur between a car driver and a cyclist on the road. As such, its future cars will be better able to help drivers prevent such collisions.
The company also points out that back in the year 2012, in the US alone, no less than 726 cyclists were killed in such collisions. Also, in the same year in Berlin, there were at least 4,533 cyclists injured. Apparently, what Volvo is doing here should also be followed by other automakers around the globe.
