We all are aware of the Volvo's obsession with safety in their cars and we've seen the levels to which these guys have gone to make sure everything is in order. Now, the company has teamed up with POC and Ericsson to develop a new two-way communication system for cars and cyclists.
The system uses a prototype helmet and a smartphone to communicate a cyclist's position to drivers. If an imminent collision is detected, both the driver and the cyclist will be warned. The most amazing part of this smart technology is that the warning will occur even if the cyclist is in a blind spot and the driver can't see them.
Why the sudden attention to cyclists, you ask? Well, the people at Volvo say that cycling accidents are more common than most people realize. If you look at the statistics, 726 cyclists were killed in the US in 2012 while 4,533 cyclists were injured in Berlin alone in the same year. With cycles gaining popularity over the world, Volvo clearly wants to be prepared.
According to Volvo's Klas Bendrik, "The partnership between Volvo Cars, POC and Ericsson is an important milestone in investigating the next steps towards Volvo Cars' vision to build cars that will not crash. But now, 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."
