That has given the technology a safety net and carmakers a shield against liability if anything goes wrong. Until now, every carmaker has forced drivers to pay attention to the road when they use its driver-assistance technology. While Volvo hopes to expand the number of roads where its technology works via future software updates, there will probably always be areas where these cars have to hand control back to a human driver.īut even with those limitations, Volvo is setting an ambitious goal for itself. That means that these Volvo cars may never be capable of the kind of fully autonomous operation that would allow the vehicles to operate in crowded city streets or to drive around without anyone inside of them. There also won't be fixed lidars pointing to the sides, to the back, or providing short-range coverage of the road immediately around the vehicle. There won't be a spinning lidar on the roof with a 360-degree field of view. While Volvo and Luminar are aiming to offer the most sophisticated self-driving technology on the market by 2022, those 2022 vehicles will also have an important limitation: they'll only have a single forward-facing lidar unit. However, it will differ from Super Cruise-as well as Tesla's Autopilot, Volvo's current Pilot Assist, and similar products from other carmakers-in that drivers will not have to pay attention to the road while the feature is active. This suggests that Volvo's technology will be similar to GM's industry-leading Super Cruise technology in that its use will be limited to specific highways that have been pre-mapped by the manufacturer. Volvo's Henrik Green writes that, when a customer activates Volvo's self-driving feature, "Volvo takes responsibility for the driving and you can relax, take your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel." He adds that "over time, updates over the air will expand the areas in which the car can drive itself." Volvo says that the addition of the Luminar lidar-along with other technology improvements over the next two years-will enable Volvo to offer truly autonomous highway driving. Volvo is aiming for “eyes off” autonomy, at least on highwaysįurther Reading Flagship sedans like the Audi A8 are a dying breed That's particularly impressive because industry leader Velodyne charged as much as $75,000 for sensors with comparable range and resolution (albeit with a 360-degree field of view Luminar's lidar lacks) just a few years ago. And he's hoping that the Volvo deal will catch the attention of other carmakers who are also considering adding lidar to their own vehicles. That's in contrast to conventional 905nm lidar systems that can be made using ubiquitous silicon-based components.īut Russell says Luminar has figured out how to bring the cost of its sensor below $1,000 for large-scale customers like Volvo. That helps Luminar's lidar achieve its impressive 250-meter range.īut the downside is that transmitting and receiving a 1,550nm laser light requires the use of unusual and expensive semiconductor materials like indium-gallium arsenide. The fluid in the human eye is opaque to light at this frequency, allowing lidars to use higher power levels without running afoul of eye safety regulations. Luminar's technology is built around a relatively exotic type of laser operating at 1,550nm. Luminar CEO Austin Russell says the announcement represents years of work bringing down the cost of its technology. Volvo plans to integrate Luminar's lidar into the car's roof just above the windshield, where it will have a good view of the road ahead of the vehicle. While some leading high-end lidars spin 360 degrees, Luminar's sensors are fixed in place with a 120-degree horizontal field of view. Further Reading Review: Hands-on mandatory, but Ars lets Volvo’s XC90 drive itself in traffic
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