One Volvo sees a moose. Another Volvo approaching the same road gets warned before its driver can even see it.
That is the idea behind Volvo’s latest Connected Safety update, which adds four new real-time hazard alerts to the EX60, EX90 and ES90.
The cars will be able to warn drivers about large animals, cyclists, pedestrians, roadwork and accidents detected further ahead.
Four New Warnings For The Road Ahead
The software update introduces four additions to Volvo’s existing Connected Safety system:
- Large Animal Alert: Warns drivers when a large animal is detected on or near the road.
- Vulnerable Road User Alert: Flags unexpected pedestrians or cyclists on or near highways.
- Roadwork Alert: Notifies drivers about construction further along their route.
- Accident Ahead Alert: Uses information from connected vehicles and traffic management centers to warn of crashes.
The alerts are designed to be particularly useful when visibility is limited by winding roads, hills or bad weather.
When One Car Sees Danger, The Others Know
Unlike the manually reported warnings found in Waze or Google Maps, Volvo’s system can use information detected by the car itself.
A vehicle can identify a hazard through its cameras and sensors, record its location and send that information to Volvo’s cloud. Other connected Volvos approaching the same area can then receive an early warning.
Connected Safety is not entirely new. Volvo introduced the system in 2016 with alerts for slippery roads and vehicles using their hazard lights.
More than one million Volvo cars now have the technology activated across Europe, the US and Canada. Through Europe’s Data for Road Safety ecosystem, information can also be shared with participating vehicles from other brands and national traffic management centers.
Safety Becomes A Network Effect
The update shows how the value of a connected car can extend beyond the sensors built into that individual vehicle.
A car may not be able to see through a sharp bend, over a hill or beyond the vehicle ahead. A connected fleet can give it access to what another car has already encountered.
The system still has limitations. Connected Safety must be enabled, the participating vehicles need an internet connection, and the road must exist in Volvo’s map database. Volvo also stresses that the alerts support attentive driving rather than replace it.
The new features will roll out to the Volvo EX60, EX90 and ES90 in Europe, the US and Canada, with timing varying by model.
As cars become more software-defined, the most valuable upgrade may not be something a vehicle can do alone. It may be what every connected vehicle can learn from the others.