Volvo unveils proving ground for next-gen car tech

Volvo has recently unleashed its AstaZero proving ground near Gothenburg in Sweden to test next-generation vehicle and traffic technology. AstaZero enables engineers to test their vehicles in a broad range of potential traffic situation, the company stated.

On an area of two million square metres, the site includes rural roads, a city area, multilane roads and a high-speed area for tests related to vehicle dynamics such as avoidance manoeuvres at high speed. The site is encircled by a 5.7km highway. The rural road is designed for tests involving the use of hidden or suddenly appearing obstacles. The city area will be used in the first place to test the vehicle's capability to interact with other vehicles or bicycles and pedestrians as well as infrastructure objects.

The primary focus for driving tests on the compound is on active safety systems, Volvo said. "Safety testing under realistic circumstances is a prerequisite for developing active safety systems", said Anders Axelson of Volvo Car Safety Centre. "The facility will play several important roles: not only will it help us meet our safety vision, developing cars that don't crash, it will also help us further develop safety functions that will address non-motorists such as pedestrians and cyclists."

Technologies to be tested at AstaZero include systems that aim at preventing accidents through inattentiveness and driver fatigue. Besides active safety technology, the Swedish carmaker will also test technologies and systems aiming at autonomous driving. The test site serves as an open platform for all kinds of interested stakeholders such as vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, legislators, government agencies, academia and technical institutes.

- Christoph Hammerschmidt
  EE Times Europe