Story

Vital tests for future active safety systems

2014-11-04

Volvo Group

Peter Kronberg, the Volvo Group’s Safety Director, explains the importance of active safety and the new possibilities for full-scale tests at the recently inaugurated AstaZero proving ground just outside Gothenburg.

Active safety can be very effective, but it is conditional on the systems being reliable, i.e. that they deploy at the right moment and not otherwise.

What is AstaZero?
“It’s the world’s most advanced proving ground for active vehicle safety. The test area is two million square metres in size and this is where the Volvo Group is going to develop future safety systems for heavy-duty vehicles.”

What makes this proving ground so unique?
“It’s a full-scale test environment which comprises everything from a six-kilometre-long highway, an authentic city environment and a multi-late motorway to an area for high-speed tests. In some ways, it resembles a gigantic film studio. The infrastructure also enables vehicles to communicate with one another and with their surroundings.”

What is the Volvo Group going to use this proving ground for?
“AstaZero offers us a unique advantage as we develop the active safety systems of the future. Its high-tech equipment and realistic environments will make it possible to test complex or dangerous traffic situations in a controlled, repeatable way.”

What is active safety?
“Active safety comprises safety solutions which use sensors to identify and prevent critical traffic situations. Examples of active safety systems the Volvo Group has already developed include collision warning with emergency brake, lane keeping support, lane changing support and visibility support using cameras. The Volvo Group’s traffic safety experts have been studying data from traffic accidents since the 1960s and their analyses reveal that many of the most common accident types are best managed using active safety.”