Volvo XC90 self-driving user interface revealed (video)

Volvo has revealed the user interface for its autonomous, self-driving cars that will arrive first on the XC90s being used for the self-driving trial in Gothenburg.

Volvo revealed nearly two years ago that it will be running large-scale autonomous driving trials in Gothenburg in 2017 in conjunction with the Swedish Transportation Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency, Lindholmen Science Park and the City of Gothenburg in a project called ‘Drive Me – Self-driving cars for sustainable mobility’.

At the time, Volvo told us that the project was starting in 2014 with the development of the necessary technology that would be fitted to 100 autonomous XC90s when the trial gets underway, and now we get the revelation of the fruits of Volvo’s labours with this – the user interface for the autonomous Volvos.

As you’d expect from Volvo, care has been taken to ensure that the IntelliSafe Auto Pilot – Volvo’s name for its new tech – can safely and seamlessly take over control of the car and, perhaps more crucially, hand it back too.

Activated and deactivated by pulling the flappy paddles, the paddles flash when the car enters an area which supports autonomous driving, and when the car gets close to exiting an autonomous area the dashboard gives a sixty second countdown for the driver to retake control. If they don’t, the car will bring itself to a safe halt.

Thomas Ingenlath, Volvo’s Design VP, said:

We have designed a user interface that is safe and seamless to use so that drivers can confidently transfer and regain control of the car.

The Drive Me trials will see 100 self-driving Volvos taking to Gothenburg’s road in 2017 – in the hands of commuters and families – to see how well the new technology works on around 50km of roads capable of supporting autonomous driving.

Volvo self-driving user interface video