By gathering data from sensors in their cars – such as when a driver brakes suddenly or swerves to avoid something – Volvo can recreate these moments in a virtual environment. This lets them study incidents in new ways and figure out how to prevent accidents in the future.
Image: motorpress.co.za
SOMETHING that has always baffled, frustrated, and infuriated me is seeing drivers use their mobile devices while driving. In years gone by, it was bad enough when they drove with a phone pressed to their ear - but recently, it’s become worse. Exponentially worse.
These days people don’t only drive and talk, they drive and text, and read and scroll … What’s the next step? Playing games while driving?
It seems like the smarter our devices become, the less smart the users are getting.
Even when you are alert, switched on and 100 percent focused on what you’re doing while driving, unexpected things can, and often do go wrong; it’s actually amazing how many things we cannot plan for.
And it’s maybe because of this potential randomness that a not-so-little motor company up in Sweden has taken it upon themselves to prepare for more of the unexpected, by making their cars smarter.
Volvo Cars is using cutting-edge AI technology to create realistic virtual worlds that help improve its car safety systems, like those that assist drivers with braking or steering in tricky situations.
Image: motorpress.co.za
Introducing Volvo’s Gaussian splatting
Volvo Cars is using cutting-edge AI technology to create realistic virtual worlds that help improve its car safety systems, like those that assist drivers with braking or steering in tricky situations.
By gathering data from sensors in their cars – such as when a driver brakes suddenly or swerves to avoid something – Volvo can recreate these moments in a virtual environment. This lets them study incidents in new ways and figure out how to prevent accidents in the future.
The secret behind this innovation is a technique called Gaussian splatting, which transforms real-world visuals into detailed 3D scenes. In these virtual worlds, Volvo can add or remove cars, pedestrians, or obstacles and simulate different outcomes, testing how their safety systems respond.
What makes this so exciting is the speed and scale it offers. Volvo can now expose its safety software to countless traffic situations – even rare and dangerous ones – in just days instead of months. This means safer cars on the road, faster.
A Legacy of Safety: Harnessing the Power of Data
For decades, Volvo Cars has been at the forefront of using data and cutting-edge technologies to make driving safer for everyone. The invaluable insights gathered by the Volvo Cars Safety Research team have paved the way for some of the most groundbreaking safety innovations in the world.
It all began in the 1970s, when Volvo’s Safety Research team took to accident scenes armed with measuring tapes and a keen eye for detail. They meticulously analysed skid marks, crash damage, and other crucial indicators to better understand what went wrong – and how to make it right.
These early investigations laid the foundation for lifesaving features like the Whiplash Injury Protection System and the Side Impact Protection System.
Fast-forward to today, and Volvo Cars continues to lead the charge. Armed with advanced technology and even more sophisticated data, the team is constantly finding smarter ways to predict and prevent accidents before they happen, ensuring that every journey is as safe as it can be.
Just in case it does happen
Alwin Bakkenes, Head of Global Software Engineering at Volvo Cars, says that they are digging into the “it will probably never happen, but …” chest, to prepare for infinitely small probabilities. “We already have millions of data points of moments that never happened that we use to develop our software," he explains.
“Thanks to Gaussian splatting we can select one of the rare corner cases and explode it into thousands of new variations of the scenario to train and validate our models against. This has the potential to unlock a scale that we’ve never had before and even to catch edge cases before they happen in the real world.”
A Piece of the Puzzle
Volvo Cars combines virtual environments with real-world testing to develop and refine its safety software, making the process safer, more scalable, and cost-effective. These virtual worlds are created in-house in partnership with Zenseact, an AI and software company founded by Volvo Cars.
The project is also part of a PhD programme involving top Swedish universities, exploring how neural rendering techniques could shape future safety innovations. It’s supported by the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP).
Driving Innovation: NVIDIA and Volvo Cars
Volvo Cars is supercharging its technology game with NVIDIA. Their electric cars now use cutting-edge sensors and powerful computing to see and understand the road like never before.
Backing this is an AI supercomputing platform, powered by NVIDIA DGX systems, that turns data into smarter safety features and fuels the next wave of artificial intelligence. This ambitious setup is part of Volvo Cars’ and Zenseact's investment in one of the largest data centers in the Nordics.
The result? Safer, smarter cars that push the boundaries of what's possible.
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