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Volvo has announced that, in co-operation with the Chinese government, it is going to set up an autonomous driving (AD) experiment which will see regular Chinese drivers taking AD cars out onto public roads to help test the software and hardware needed for the next generation of robotic cars. Up to 100 cars will be involved and Volvo has already started negotiating with cities in China to get the authority to run the programme.
"Autonomous driving can make a significant contribution to road safety," Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo will tell a seminar in Beijing on April 7 entitled 'Autonomous driving - could China take the lead?'. "The sooner AD cars are on the roads; the sooner lives will start being saved. There are multiple benefits to AD cars. That is why governments need to put in place the legislation to allow AD cars onto the streets as soon as possible. The car industry cannot do it all by itself. We need governmental help."
According to Volvo's research, AD cars could dramatically reduce the number of crashes on the roads, as up to 90 per cent of them can be traced back to human error. Both congestion and pollution can also be eased by AD cars because, theoretically at any rate, they can make traffic move more easily.
"AD is not just about car technology. We need the right rules and the right laws," Mr Samuelsson will say. "It is natural for us to work together. Our starting point is that both the public and private sectors stand to benefit from new technologies and industries, so it is better to build bridges and work together than to all go in different directions."