Driverless cars are to make their first appearance on Australian roads in November, with Swedish carmaker Volvo set to trial its first fully driverless car, a digitally equipped XC90 SUV, on selected Adelaide roads.
Volvo will join with independent road research body ARRB, the South Australian Government, Bosch and Telstra to trial the driverless vehicles on Adelaide’s Southern Expressway, at Tonsley Innovation Park and also at Adelaide Airport.
Volvo has said the trials will help establish how driverless technology needs to be engineered and manufactured for Australian driving behaviour, climate, road conditions, markings, surfaces and roadside signage.
Kevin McCann, Volvo Car Australia MD, said Volvo aims to make driverless systems available for customers in production cars in the near future. He claimed the benefits would include improved traffic safety, better fuel economy and reduced congestion
Dealing specifically with the Australian test, Volvo has said: “To support the trial Volvo Car Australia will provide an all-new XC90 that will be specially programmed to allow its IntelliSafe Assist (Adaptive Cruise Control including Pilot Assist, Lane Keeping Aid, Distance Alert, and Speed Limiter Function) to be operated hands free, within a controlled environment”.
