Volvo Cars, protective gravity sports gear manufacturer POC and Ericsson unveiled an innovative safety technology connecting drivers and cyclists for the first time at the recently concluded International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, US.

The technology consists of a connected car and helmet prototype that will establish two-way communication offering proximity alerts to Volvo drivers and cyclists and thereby avoid accidents.

The global growth in cycling continues unabated as commuters take to their bikes. This has resulted in an increase in serious cycling accidents, an issue that requires an innovative and concerted effort to address, said a statement.

Volvo Cars’ City Safety system – a standard in the all new XC90 – is a technology that can detect, warn and auto-brake to avoid collisions with cyclists.

It was the industry’s first step to seriously address cyclist safety. This commitment has paved the way for the innovative helmet technology concept, presented at the show.

Using a popular smartphone app for bicyclists, like Strava, the cyclist’s position can be shared through the Volvo cloud to the car, and vice versa.

If an imminent collision is calculated, both road users will be warned – and enabled to take the necessary action to avoid a potential accident.

The Volvo driver will be alerted to a cyclist nearby through a head-up display alert – even if he happens to be in a blind spot. The cyclist will be warned via a helmet-mounted alert light.

The cloud-based safety concept has exciting development opportunities and will ultimately help save lives across the whole spectrum of ‘unprotected’ road users, said the statement.

Klas Bendrik, vice president and group chief information officer at Volvo Cars, said: “The partnership between Volvo Cars, POC and Ericsson is an important milestone in investigating the next steps towards Volvo Car’s vision to build cars that will not crash.

“By exploring cloud-based safety systems, we are getting ever closer to eliminating the remaining blind spots between cars and cyclists and by that avoid collisions.”

Stefan Ytterborn, chief executive officer and founder of POC, said: “Our mission is to do the best we can to possibly save lives and to reduce the consequences of accidents for gravity sports athletes and cyclists.

“The partnership with Volvo Cars aligns very well with our mission and we are excited to see how we can contribute to bicycle safety and increase interaction between cars and cyclists alike”.

Per Borgklint, senior vice president and head of Business Unit Support Solutions at Ericsson, said: “There is perhaps no greater promise that the Networked Society holds than its ability to create connections that save lives. Our latest work with Volvo Cars to explore protecting the millions of cyclists on the road is just the latest example of innovation that can change the world.

“We are proud to support this critical initiative in conjunction with POC and remain committed to the pursuit of connectivity-driven advancements that create limitless new possibilities.” - TradeArabia News Service