The focus of autonomous automobiles is shifting towards how good they are at evading accidents. Swedish automobile manufacturer, Volvo, is prepared for the acid test as it demonstrates its Collision Warning and Emergency Brake System in a video shared on Facebook.
Volvo has provided City Safety features on its cars for the past several years. They have massively helped in preventing low-speed accidents. The vehicles have a camera and radar unit present on top of the windshield. This mechanism is able to detect vehicles and pedestrians that are likely to collide with your vehicle. The braking system gets ready to be deployed and if the driver does not respond in time, can even apply full brakes to avoid an accident. The system works under specific speed limits.
The video shows a loaded Volvo truck that comes alarmingly close to the stationary vehicle. Volvo’s faith in its anti-lock braking system (ABS) is clearly seen as it leaves it to the last second to bring the truck to the absolute stop.
It is also said that there is a probability that the system has the mechanism set in a way that warns the driver first before interfering with the incoming threat.
The system gives off an ascending alarm tone and slows down the truck as it gets closer to the vehicle ahead. This gives the driver enough of a time window to change lanes and not stop the vehicle at once. If the driver pays no heed to the alarms, they get high-pitched, and even then, if there is no activity, the system intervenes.
People commented inquiring if the mechanism will work the same if the weather is bad like when it is raining or snowing. The response from Volvo on these remarks is yet to be given.
