Volvo to deliver LIDAR-equipped cars by 2022 for FULL Autonomous Driving

Volvo is biting the bullet on equipping its cars with LIDAR for fully autonomous driving by 2022 when the new SPA2 Platform arrives.

LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a very clever technology using a pulsating laser to measure ranges, and is key to the future of autonomous driving.

But, like most new technologies, it’s not been exactly cheap to produce, so most firms are working on using LIDAR on ‘RoboTaxis’ rather than considering rolling it out to cars we can buy in showrooms.

But Volvo seemed to have cracked the cost problem with their investment in US startup Luminar, and have announced that fully autonomous driving will be available on Volvo cars when the new SPA2 platform (the next version of the one that underpins Volvo’s 60 and 90 series cars) arrives in 2022.

Volvo intend to fit LIDAR to all their cars eventually, and it will have the sensors seamlessly integrated in the roof (see the photo above) to deliver ‘Have a kip behind the wheel’ driving on ‘Highways’ (which we assume will mean motorways and dual carriageways in the UK).

Henrik Green, Chief Technology Officer at Volvo, said:

Soon, your Volvo will be able to drive autonomously on highways when the car determines it is safe to do so. At that point, your Volvo takes responsibility for the driving and you can relax, take your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel. Over time, updates over the air will expand the areas in which the car can drive itself. For us, a safe introduction of autonomy is a gradual introduction.