Volvo To Begin Testing Self-Driving Car In 2017

At last Wednesday’s Auto Show in Los Angeles, Volvo unveiled a glimpse of the interior of their autonomous car named Concept 26.

Concept 26, or C26, derives its name from the estimated time the average American spends on their daily commute, suggesting that this time will be reclaimed for work, rest or entertainment from the comfort of the driver’s seat.

The Swedish automaker has been at the forefront of self-driving technologies such as automatic braking to avoid collisions and speed regulation to maintain safe distances, continuing to hold a strong position in the autonomous car race as it plans to roll out test vehicles ready for real-world roads in the near future.

Volvo announced earlier this quarter plans to offer public testing of their auto-piloted system on 100 vehicles in Gothenburg, Sweden as soon as 2017 in a project entitled “Drive Me.”

While other manufacturers such as Google are prototyping vehicles without steering wheels and pedals, handing over complete operation to the car by entering location coordinates, Volvo isn’t venturing quite that far yet. Since their test vehicles will be designed to command the reigns during Highway driving or predictable scenarios like slow-moving traffic, the inclusion of conventional controls means drivers will still be responsible for navigating themselves through more variable driving situations and conditions. A bid perhaps, on Volvo’s part, to enable an earlier entry into the market, although Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson states that the difference is fundamental and that “Google is not a competitor.”

In a bold move to earn public confidence in their technology, Volvo claims it will accept liability for any faults, including crashes, which happen while the car is running in autonomous mode during the testing phase. Samuelsson urged U.S. leadership to provide guidelines on how these cars can be used, stating that while America was at the forefront of the technology, it was “not in the forefront of the regulation.”

Swedish design heritage is evident in the elegant and clean cabin of C26, which includes a 25-inch screen that tucks away on the passenger side of the dashboard. The seats offer various reclining positions and the steering wheel withdraws into the dashboard, allowing room for functional placement of retractable tabletops for a laptop to get work started, or to have breakfast, during those newly gained 26 minutes.

Lex Kerssemakers, CEO of Volvo North America hailed Concept 26 as a “step toward our vision of a day when drivers will be able to choose between driving themselves…and safely delegating the driving to the car in rush-hour traffic.”

Autonomous cars remain an ambitious prospect, yet Volvo leadership presents a realistic vision and timeline to bring key aspects of the technology within reach.

At this nascent stage of development, would you trust an autonomous car? And would you be comfortable in an automobile with no manual controls, or would you prefer a system that allowed the possibility of an old-fashioned joy ride?