What's all this about?
Volvo is gearing itself up to have its self-driving cars on public roads by 2017.
But that's only two years away!
Yes, but this is a 'public pilot', in which 100 customers would be allowed to use autonomous Volvos on selected traffic- and pedestrian-free roads around Gothenburg.
Is this different to what Google is doing?
Well, Google hasn't tested its cheeky little roboticised motors on the public highway yet, although it is trying to get them out on San Francisco Bay Area roads imminently. Volvo's cars, though, are proper, big, full-sized, er... Volvos. With no human driver.
So what would the people inside be doing?
Apart from clenching their eyes shut in terror? Not much. Volvo reckons any human who uses a self-driving car is less likely to intervene in a moment of crisis, so it's essential that the Autopilot software can cope with all manner of driving eventualities. To that end, the Swedish company makes comparison with the aviation industry's robust failsafes and back-ups, claiming its car Autopilot has the same comprehensive amount of electronic safety nets.
But how does it drive itself?
In Volvo's words, a 'complex network of sensors, cloud-based positioning systems and intelligent braking and steering technologies'. We will have to wait and see how the Volvo Drive Me cars work when we reach the crux of the matter in 2017.
Matt Robinson - 20 Feb 2015