Volvo - "Self-parking car accident"
#1
The pursuit of F
Thread Starter
Volvo - "Self-parking car accident"
Last week, a gossip blog based in the Dominican Republic called Remolacha published a disturbing video of what it said was a “self-parking car accident.” A group of people stand in a garage watching and filming a grey Volvo XC60 that backs up, stops, and then accelerates toward the group. It smashes into two people, and causes the person filming the video with his phone to drop it and run. It is terrifying.
We reached out to Volvo for answers about what went wrong here, and the company’s response was also a bit disturbing. Volvo spokesperson Johan Larsson explained that the video is mislabeled. He said the car is not attempting to self-park. “It seems they are trying to demonstrate pedestrian detection and auto-braking,” said Larsson by email. “Unfortunately, there were some issues in the way the test was conducted.”
The main issue, said Larsson, is that it appears that the people who bought this Volvo did not pay for the “Pedestrian detection functionality,” which is a feature that costs more money.
“The Volvo XC60 comes with City Safety as a standard feature however this does not include the Pedestrian detection functionality,” said Larsson. The “City Safety system” kicks in when someone is in stop-and-go traffic, helping the driver avoid rear ending another car while driving slowly, or under 30 mph.
Keeping the car safe is included as a standard feature, but keeping pedestrians safe isn’t. “It appears as if the car in this video is not equipped with Pedestrian detection,” said Larsson. “This is sold as a separate package.”
The pedestrian detection feature, which works using a radar in the car’s grill and a camera located behind the windshield. has been around since the mid 2000s, and even started detecting cyclists in 2011, but it costs approximately $3,000, according to IEEE.
But even if it did have the feature, Larsson says the driver would have interfered with it by the way they were driving and “accelerating heavily towards the people in the video.” “The pedestrian detection would likely have been inactivated due to the driver inactivating it by intentionally and actively accelerating,” said Larsson. “Hence, the auto braking function is overrided by the driver and deactivated.”
Meanwhile, the people in the video seem to ignore their instincts and trust that the car assumed to be endowed with artificial intelligence knows not to hurt them. It is a sign of our incredible faith in the power of technology, but also, it’s a reminder that companies making AI-assisted vehicles need to make safety features standard and communicate clearly when they aren’t. According to the Dominican blog, the “two men hit were bruised but are ok.”
Even if you have paid for your car to detect and avoid hitting pedestrians, Larsson says, “Volvo Cars strongly recommends to never perform tests towards real humans.”
We reached out to Volvo for answers about what went wrong here, and the company’s response was also a bit disturbing. Volvo spokesperson Johan Larsson explained that the video is mislabeled. He said the car is not attempting to self-park. “It seems they are trying to demonstrate pedestrian detection and auto-braking,” said Larsson by email. “Unfortunately, there were some issues in the way the test was conducted.”
The main issue, said Larsson, is that it appears that the people who bought this Volvo did not pay for the “Pedestrian detection functionality,” which is a feature that costs more money.
“The Volvo XC60 comes with City Safety as a standard feature however this does not include the Pedestrian detection functionality,” said Larsson. The “City Safety system” kicks in when someone is in stop-and-go traffic, helping the driver avoid rear ending another car while driving slowly, or under 30 mph.
Keeping the car safe is included as a standard feature, but keeping pedestrians safe isn’t. “It appears as if the car in this video is not equipped with Pedestrian detection,” said Larsson. “This is sold as a separate package.”
The pedestrian detection feature, which works using a radar in the car’s grill and a camera located behind the windshield. has been around since the mid 2000s, and even started detecting cyclists in 2011, but it costs approximately $3,000, according to IEEE.
But even if it did have the feature, Larsson says the driver would have interfered with it by the way they were driving and “accelerating heavily towards the people in the video.” “The pedestrian detection would likely have been inactivated due to the driver inactivating it by intentionally and actively accelerating,” said Larsson. “Hence, the auto braking function is overrided by the driver and deactivated.”
Meanwhile, the people in the video seem to ignore their instincts and trust that the car assumed to be endowed with artificial intelligence knows not to hurt them. It is a sign of our incredible faith in the power of technology, but also, it’s a reminder that companies making AI-assisted vehicles need to make safety features standard and communicate clearly when they aren’t. According to the Dominican blog, the “two men hit were bruised but are ok.”
Even if you have paid for your car to detect and avoid hitting pedestrians, Larsson says, “Volvo Cars strongly recommends to never perform tests towards real humans.”
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Even if you have paid for your car to detect and avoid hitting pedestrians, Larsson says, “Volvo Cars strongly recommends to never perform tests towards real humans.”
#4
someone here said few days back that Volvo salesman in the usa demonstrated autl-brake by driving towards the wall... you gotta be pretty stupid to test these systems like that... tests have shown over and over that nothing is perfect
#5
Yes and this kind of systems may cause even more accidents than before, because people may think that they dont need look and be careful anymore : "it has anti collision, auto parking and lange change warning, the car takes care of it ". There should be very clear rules about how this kind of systems should be advertised, that the system maybe could help in a situation, nothing more. Just like ESC.
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#8
Lexus Champion
I am an engineer and I like to be prepared when I go shopping, but still, it surprises me how little a salesman knows about what he is selling.
#9
Some of this falls to the manufacturer and their training programs.
When I bought my Q50S Hybrid in 2013 the salesmen had little (and I mean no) training on the car.
Mine was the first delivery and 2 of them sat in the car with me during the congratulations on your new car orientation. They basically took turns reading the manuals and trying to figure out the controls (sad and laughable at the same time).
As a former Volvo owner, it is hard to stomach how they have lost their game (at least the Volvo trucks and heavy equipment still have game).
When I bought my Q50S Hybrid in 2013 the salesmen had little (and I mean no) training on the car.
Mine was the first delivery and 2 of them sat in the car with me during the congratulations on your new car orientation. They basically took turns reading the manuals and trying to figure out the controls (sad and laughable at the same time).
As a former Volvo owner, it is hard to stomach how they have lost their game (at least the Volvo trucks and heavy equipment still have game).
#10
No, it's a matter of people not understanding the literature.
The XC60 is equipped with forward collision warning with autonomous braking (CitySafety). The part that the group of people present is that the failed to realise that CitySafety with pedestrian detection is optional.
As a side note, I foresee some sort of litigation in the future on forward collision warning systems on the basis that some are warning only while others include automatic braking (like Pre-Collision, PRE-SAFE, CMBS)
The XC60 is equipped with forward collision warning with autonomous braking (CitySafety). The part that the group of people present is that the failed to realise that CitySafety with pedestrian detection is optional.
As a side note, I foresee some sort of litigation in the future on forward collision warning systems on the basis that some are warning only while others include automatic braking (like Pre-Collision, PRE-SAFE, CMBS)
#12
Lexus Test Driver
Well it was supposed to have the detection feature!! Opps!!
I bet they won't be test dummies again!!!
Self-braking Volvo fails test drive, slams into group of onlookers
I bet they won't be test dummies again!!!
Self-braking Volvo fails test drive, slams into group of onlookers
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