Volvo Uses Magnets To Guide Autonomous Cars

By Ganesh

Published: Thursday, March 13, 2014, 13:03 [IST]

We know that Volvo is actively working on researching and developing self driving cars for the future. So are several other automakers. So far the most popular technology employed to guide and keep autonomous cars in lane has been GPS, working in conjunction with on-board cameras and radars.

However, cameras and GPS have an inherent limitation. They will not function to their best abilities when the conditions are not ideal. Such as during harsh weather or when the camera's view is obstructed, either directly or indirectly.

To overcome this hurdle Volvo has hit upon the idea of making use of magnets to ‘steer' self driving cars. Volvo researchers recently tried this method in their test facility in Hällered outside Gothenburg, Sweden where they prepared a special 100 meter long road with ferrite magnets buried some 8 inches below the ground.

The car, also equipped with magnetic sensors, used the magnets in the road as markers to move on the predetermined path.

The test found ferrite magnets to be the most reliable, durable and cost effective. The test also evaluated the impact of this method on road maintenance and the results were encouraging.

"The magnets create an invisible railway that literally paves the way for a positioning inaccuracy of less than one decimeter. We have tested the technology at a variety of speeds and the results so far are promising," Volvo preventive safety leader Jonas Ekmark said in a statement.
The next step will be to conduct tests in real-life traffic, the automaker says.

"The test results are very interesting, especially when adding the potential for improved safety as well the advantages for the development of self-driving vehicles," Claes Tingvall, Traffic Safety Director at the Swedish Transport Administration said. "A large-scale implementation of road magnets could very well be part of Sweden's aim to pioneer technology that contributes to sustainable mobility."

Volvo's next step is to conduct tests in real-life traffic conditions.