Volvo reveals world-first Cyclist Detection with full auto brake in Geneva

Senior Vice President Marketing, Sales and Customer Service at Volvo Car Group, Doug Speck, introduced at the Geneva Motor Show their latest safety innovation. A moniker known for safety, Volvo introduced yet another safety innovation aimed at cyclists. With reference to an accident data, Volvo claims, about 50 percent of all cyclists killed in European traffic have collided with a car.

The new Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection system detects and automatically brakes for cyclists swerving out in front of the car.

The new system is a further enhancement to the already existing detection and auto brake technology, and will be incorporated to cars that are equipped with pedestrian detection.

The system comprises of several components starting with a grille mounted radar unit that scans for objects and determines the distance to them.

A camera fitted in front of the rear view mirror determines the type of the objects and studies the moving pattern of pedestrians and cyclists on top of a central control unit that monitors and evaluates the traffic situation.

The auto brake system utilises data collected from both the radar and the camera to confirm the object before applying full braking power immediately. The state of the art technology also covers vehicles on top of cyclists driving in the same lane.