Volvo S60 includes pedestrian detection with full auto brake

Volvo said its new S60 includes a radar and camera-based system that can detect pedestrians in front of the car, warn if anyone walks out into its path – and then automatically activate the car’s full braking power if the driver fails to respond in time. Volvo said it knows of no other system that can do the same.

Pedestrian Detection with full auto brake consists of a newly developed dual-mode radar unit integrated into the car’s grille, a camera fitted in front of the interior rear-view mirror, and a central control unit. The radar’s task is to detect any object in front of the car and to determine the distance to it. The camera determines what type of object it is. The function is also programmed to respond to vehicles in front that are at a standstill or that are moving in the same direction as the car fitted with the system.

Thanks to the dual-mode radar’s wide field of vision, pedestrians about to step into the roadway can be detected early on. The camera has higher resolution than the previous-generation unit. This makes it possible to detect the pedestrian’s pattern of movement.

“The auto-brake system requires that the object is confirmed by both the radar and the camera. Thanks to the advanced sensor technology used, it is now possible to increase to full braking power,” explains says Thomas Broberg, senior safety advisor at Volvo Cars.

Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake can avoid a collision with a pedestrian at speeds up to 35 km/h if the driver does not react in time. At higher speeds, the focus is on reducing the car’s speed as much as possible prior to the impact. A lower speed of impact means that the risk of serious injury is significantly reduced. For instance, if speed is cut from 50 km/h to 25 km/h, Pedestrian Detection with full auto brake is expected to reduce the fatality risk with as much as 20% and in some certain cases with up to 85%.

“The proportion of pedestrian fatalities is high today and our technology will play a major role in reducing it,” says Broberg.

“Detecting pedestrians with sufficiently high reliability has been a complex challenge. Our innovative technology is programmed to trace a pedestrian’s pattern of movement and also to calculate whether he or she is likely to step into the road in front of the car. The system can detect pedestrians who are 80 cm tall and upwards, that is to say, including children,” Broberg notes.

Full braking force

In an emergency situation the driver first receives an audible warning combined with a flashing light in the windscreen’s head-up display. In order to generate an immediate, intuitive reaction this warning resembles a brake light. At the same time, the car’s brakes are pre-charged. If the driver does not react to the warning and an accident is imminent, full braking power is automatically applied.

The technology has the same limitations as the human eye, thus it “sees” less well in the dark and in poor weather.

Volvo Cars has worked for five years on the development of Pedestrian Detection with full auto brake. Test cars have been in operation all over the world to cover all possible variations of traffic behavior, road condition and climate.

“We’ve driven more than half a million test kilometers in real traffic to ‘train’ the system to recognize pedestrians’ patterns of movement and their appearance in different countries and cultures. What is more, we use the information obtained from these tests to conduct advanced computer simulations,” explains Broberg.

Collision warning with auto brake

Pedestrian Detection is a further development of the Collision Warning with Auto Brake technology already introduced by Volvo Cars. Therefore, the new S60 will also detect, alert and automatically brake if the car risks hitting another vehicle from behind.

Up to 90% of all road accidents are caused by distraction. Half of all drivers hitting another vehicle from behind do not brake at all prior to the collision.

City Safety prevents low-speed impacts

The Volvo S60 also features City Safety as standard. This system can lessen or even entirely avoid low-speed rear-end impacts at speeds up to 30 kilometres an hour.

Rear-end impacts are common in dense city traffic and when driving in traffic queues. About 75% of all these collisions occur at speeds below 30 kilometres an hour. What is more, investigations reveal that in 50% of cases, the driver has not braked at all prior to the collision.

With City Safety, the car automatically brakes if the driver fails to react in time when the vehicle in front slows down or stops – or if he or she is driving too fast towards a stationary object. If the relative speed difference between the two vehicles is below 15 km/h, the collision can be avoided. If the speed difference is between 15 and 30 km/h, the speed of impact is reduced to minimise the effects of the accident.

Rollover Protection System (ROPS) standard in the S60

The new S60 is equipped with Roll Over Protection System (ROPS) as standard. Using advanced sensor technology the pretensioners will tighten the safety belts and the Inflatable Curtains (IC) will deploy in case the car is involved in a rollover. This together with the safety cage will help to reduce the risk of injuries for belted occupants in such situations.

Collision safety including an improved Inflatable Curtain

The S60 has safety belt pre-tensioners in all seats. The Pre-Prepared Restraints (PRS) regulate the airbags and the safety belt load limiters to optimize protection depending on the force of the impact.

Among its other safety systems, the sedan model also has an advanced Side Impact Protection System, seat-mounted side airbags, Inflatable Curtains and Whiplash Protection System – one of the market’s most effective systems to help reduce the risk of neck injuries in rear impacts.

The Side Impact Protection System (SIPS) has been further improved in the S60 to address a wider span of real life situations, such as side impacts on either side of the passenger compartment. This has been made possible by combining information from accelerometers in the vehicle and a unique use of a gyro measuring yaw rate for controlling the activation of the IC, SIPS airbag and seatbelt pretensioners in such situations.

Other safety options

The Volvo S60 can also be equipped with additional solutions, such as:

• Driver Alert Control (DAC) monitors the car’s progress between the lane markers and warns the driver if his or her driving pattern changes in a random or uncontrolled way.
• Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) helps detect vehicles in the offset rear blind spot on both sides of the car. A warning lamp beside the relevant door mirror comes on to alert the driver to the danger.
• Active Bi-Xenon Lights are articulated headlights that follow the curve of the road. For best possibility illumination when driving in the dark on twisting roads.
• Lane Departure Warning (LDW) alerts the driver if the car runs across the lane markers without the turn indicator being used.

“No previous Volvo model has ever had such advanced safety technology as the Volvo S60 does. It marks yet another step towards our vision of a crash free future and ambition of no fatalities or serious injuries in a new Volvo car by the year 2020,” says Broberg.