Electel Blogspot

Usually, rescue workers get their training vehicles from scrapyards but these cars are often up to two decades old so there is a huge difference between modern cars and those built fifteen to twenty years ago, writes Trish Whelan . To allow rescue services to prepare for any possible crash scenario and to simulate the forces that erupt in the most extreme crashes, beyond what can be simulated with ordinary crash testing, Volvo Cars recently took equally extreme measures, dropping several new Volvos multiple times from a crane, from a height of 30 metres. A total of ten Volvos, of different models, were dropped from the crane several times. Before the drop, the company’s safety engineers made exact calculations about how much pressure and force each car needed to be exposed to in order to reach the desired level of damage. Dropping cars from such a height created enough damage to adequately simulate the damage found in the most extreme crash scenarios such as single-car accidents at ver...

Volvo is investing €68m in developing in-house production of electric motors at its powertrain plant in Skövde, Sweden, writes Brian Byrne . Initially the company will assemble the e-motors from brought-in parts, but plans to develop full manufacture at the plant. Volvo says half its fleet of cars will be fully electric by 2025, with the balance being hybrids. The Skövde plant is of very historic significance to Volvo, as the brand's first car was powered by an engine produced there.  

I sat in on one of Volvo Cars's Studio Talks yesterday which turned out to be one of the most slick and well-managed of recent 'remote' launch and automotive information events, writes Brian Byrne . It was based around how the Swedish carmaker is using technology developed for gaming to provide state of the art simulated driving and allied events such as sudden braking and automated motoring. I have been to many such events 'live' over the years, but it was really pleasant — and arguably no less informative — sitting at it from the comfort of my own home and winter fire. The 'ultimate simulator' live stream centred around technology that included a mixed reality headset from specialist Varjo that allows a seamless mix of virtual and real world 3D imagery. A full-body 'haptic suit' from Teslasuit allows testers to physically feel small reproductions of the forces one would experience in a crash, while experiencing no actual risk. The suit also enable...

Though screens and similar technology in modern cars can be viewed as distracting, driving safety gurus at Volvo Cars say such technology is a fact of life, and should be used to support people in their daily commute, writes Brian Byrne . According to Malin Ekholm, head of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre, 'life as a whole is distracting'. “We know people do not get distracted on purpose, but it happens. You could be late for daycare and somewhat stressed. Or you get behind the wheel after a bad day at work. All this affects you as a driver.” In a Volvo-organised safety webcast last week, she said the reality is that people want to engage with friends, family, work and entertainment, and everyone responds differently to distraction. “So we want to meet our customers where they are, not where we want them to be. That is why our focus is on using technology in the right way, so we can use it to help you stay safe behind the wheel.” She gave as an example the advanced voice control...