Around 1.3 million people die from car crashes around the world according to global estimates. In the United States alone 35,000 people die every year in traffic collisions. The numbers are staggering, and there is no excuse not to do anything about it. While some people are wary about mandated driver monitoring technology, there are plenty of ways car companies are making their vehicles safer.
Volvo has been known for their safety record since 1959, when they first introduced the 3-point seat belt. Since then they have been a leader in driver safety, manufacturing some of the safest cars out there and saving lives around the world. They continue this tradition. Now the Swedish automakers are using technology to overcome safety issues and create more secure vehicles. The latest way the company is progressing car safety is by creating a new technology they are calling the “ultimate driving simulator.”
The Ultimate Driving Simulator
Volvo’s engineers have created a state-of-the-art driving simulator that enables them to study a real car on a real road in real-time while expanding the number of traffic scenarios and making it completely safe for the tester. By combining automation technologies, a driving seat that moves, a virtual reality headset, and both a steering wheel and full body suit with haptic feedback. Through this technology the engineers can not only understand how the car reacts to specific safety traffic situations, they can study how the body reacts to the car.
This simulator uses cutting-edge tech from the 3D developers Unity and combines it with the Finnish VR experts Varjo. This combination allows them to drive a real car with high-definition 3D graphics, a headset that incudes augmented reality, and a Tesla bodysuit. Using software and hardware enables engineers to simulate traffic situations of all kinds in safety. This will provide crucial insight into the interactions between people and their vehicles with autonomous features and driver assistance.
How it will be Used
The driving simulator will be used to test every traffic scenario engineers can imagine to find out how the car and driver will react. These engineers and testers will be exposed to safety and driver assistance features that haven’t exited until now, leading to new features. The ability to test real cars on real roads with remote testing makes every scenario completely customizable.
Working with Unity and Varjo has enabled Volvo to create cutting-edge testing that will facilitate engineers’ ability to create new safety features and methods for avoiding accidents. Testing is crucial when it comes to car safety. Collision-avoiding tech will provide untold testing options. VR allows for safe testing in a real, authentic environment without needing physical prototypes and complication traffic situations.
The Future of Car Technology
According to the road traffic accidents claims specialists McGinley Solicitors, while the new driving simulator from Volvo is exciting, it is just the beginning of advancing technology when it comes to transportation. This heads in a direction where fully automated transportation becomes the norm. Technology will make cars, planes, and trains much safer and more consistent. The majority of car crashes are caused by human error. When you take out distracted driving, intoxicated driving, and drowsiness, you decrease the number of accidents, as well as the injuries and deaths that result from car crashes.
There are untold ways in which are world will evolve with technology. There are concerns to be had, but technology will improve our lives in so many ways. It is important to evolve with it, watching how technology changes our daily life will be integral to evolving with it and paying attention to the hiccups that we encounter. When it comes to cars, testing out new safety features is a perfect way to make cars that are more secure with automation, VR technology, and simulations to find new technologies and features that will create more sophisticated vehicles.
Volvo is continuing to push the boundaries on safety-based technology. The Swedish carmakers are taking it to the next level by collaborating with tech companies that can provide the advanced software and hardware to open up a world of possibilities. Only time will tell just how groundbreaking this is and how it will be used to make the world a better, safer place.