Featuring 100 self-driving Volvos, Drive Me’s first autopilot test cars are already rolling around the public roads of the Swedish City of Gothenburg.
Volvo Car Group’s groundbreaking project, Drive Me, is unique in a sense that it involves all the key players: legislators, transport authorities, a major city, a vehicle manufacturer and real customers.
The project’s premise is to have the customers drive the cars, integrated with Volvo’s autopilot technology, in everyday driving conditions on approximately 50km of selected roads in and around Gothenburg. The public roads which the drivers will take are the archetypal commuter routes, including motorway conditions and traffic.
“The test cars are now able to handle lane following, speed adaption and merging traffic all by themselves. This is an important step towards our aim that the final ‘Drive Me’ cars will be able to drive the whole test route in highly autonomous mode. The technology, which will be called Autopilot, enables the driver to hand over the driving to the vehicle, which takes care of all driving functions,” says Erik Coelingh, technical specialist at Volvo Car Group.
“That Volvo Cars’ hometown Gothenburg becomes the world’s first arena for self-driving cars in everyday driving conditions demonstrates both our technological leadership and Sweden’s dedication to pioneering the integration of self-driving vehicles,” adds Coelingh.
‘Drive Me – Self-driving cars for sustainable mobility’ is a joint initiative between Volvo Car Group, the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency, Lindholmen Science Park and the City of Gothenburg. The Swedish Government is endorsing the project.