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.

motorpress.co.za

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Volvo's innovative use of Virtual Worlds to create safer vehicles