Volvo showcases cloud-based road safety tech for drivers, cyclists

Swedish automaker Volvo Cars is set to put a cloud-based safety technology to the test in the coming quarters, Klas Bendrik, vice president and chief information officer of Volvo Cars, told the Global Times via a phone interview on Thursday.

The Swedish carmaker, controlled by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is showcasing its safety technology solution that can connect drivers with cyclists for the first time ever at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas running from Tuesday through Friday.

Volvo Cars, teaming up with Swedish protective sports gear manufacturer POC and Sweden-based communications firm Ericsson, developed the technology that consists of a cloud-connected car and helmet prototype which can provide proximity alerts to Volvo drivers and cyclists on the road and therefore avoid potential collision.

The technology requires the use of mobile apps such as Strava, an athletic activity tracker app that is available for devices powered by Apple Inc's iOS and Google Inc's Android operating systems, allowing two-way sharing of the positions of drivers and cyclists, according to Bendrik.

China is likely to be among the initial markets to get the technology when the solution becomes commercially available, Bendrik said, without disclosing the commercial rollout timetable.

There are also opportunities in developing similar technology that addresses the safety problem for pedestrians, but "now we are just in the beginning of exploring the domain of connected safety," Bendrik said, playing down the possibility of making imminent inroads in a similar solution connecting drivers and pedestrians.

Volvo Cars' pioneering research and development in connected safety solutions also indicate a growing trend toward pushing innovation in the auto sector through an integration of information technology.

The auto industry has already been confronted with structural overcapacity and a double-digit growth that had been seen for years will no longer continue, prompting carmakers to accelerate innovation that will be driven by a blend of smart-connected technologies and car manufacturing, Zuo Yan'an, former chairman of Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co, told a conference in Beijing in December.

The Swedish carmaker also reported an increase of 8.9 percent in global car sales in 2014 to a new record of 465,866, primarily driven by sales in China and Western Europe, according to its annual sales report released on Monday.

In China, Volvo Cars' total retail sales jumped by 32.8 percent to a new all-time high of 81,221 cars, according to the report.