Not too long ago, our favorite automaker here at Volvo of Burlingame was paving the way for hybrid innovation with the help of the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid. It was all very exciting, but given all the innovation that's been coming standard on our blog as of late, we can't say it was all that surprising either. And just in case you haven't experienced the future today thanks to our new and used cars, have we get some news to get you there.
As it just so happens, the engineers at Volvo have been hard at work bringing autonomous driving technologies to our lineup. As for how their Vehicle 2 Infrastructure technology will work, it all sounds so deceptively simple from the outset. If the technology is available for use in a given parking garage, the Volvo driver can activate the technology using their smartphone, exit the vehicle and walk away. From there, the system will work with surrounding transmitters to find an available parking spot and actually park itself before locking the doors and turning off the engine.
Not only that, but thanks to the inclusion of Volvo's City Safety System, the vehicle will also be able to detect and brake for surrounding vehicles and pedestrians. Needless to say, we're just chomping at the bit to try it for ourselves. Unfortunately, it's going to be while before we can.
"The autonomous parking and platooning technologies are still being developed," says Thomas Broberg, senior safety advisor at Volvo. "However, we will take the first steps towards our leadership aim by introducing the first features with autonomous steering in the all-new Volvo XC90 which will be revealed at the end of 2014."1
Bit of a bummer, but hey, you can't rush genius. So if you'd like to learn more about the cutting-edge technologies that you can already find on our lineup, come visit the experts in our car parts department at our dealership here in Burlingame, CA. They'd be happy to fill you in.
Source: 1http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/21/volvo-demos-smartphone-enabled-self-parking-car-prototype-video/