Volvo partners with Luminar for LiDAR tech; plans to sell self-driving cars by 2022

Volvo has always been at the forefront when it came to safety and the Swedish carmaker is now planning to take it one step further by integrating self-driving tech into their cars. The company is partnering with tech firm Luminar to make use of their LiDAR and perception technology for the next generation of Volvo cars.

For those of you who don’t know, LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging. It emits millions of pulses of laser light to create a 3D map of its surroundings. This technology also does not require the use of the internet since all of the tech is built into the system allowing for its use even in remote areas.

The company says that the next generation of cars will be built on the SPA 2 modular vehicle architecture that goes into production in 2022. This will be hardware ready with the Luminar LiDAR integrated directly into the roof of the car.

All cars based on this architecture will be able to avail updates over the air and customers, if they choose, can activate the Highway Pilot for full autonomous highway driving once verified safe.

“Autonomous drive has the potential to be one of the most lifesaving technologies in history, if introduced responsibly and safely,” said Henrik Green, chief technology officer at Volvo Cars. “Providing our future cars with the vision they require to make safe decisions is an important step in that direction.”

Volvo and Luminar are also exploring the possibility of using the LiDAR system on all SPA 2 based cars for improving future advanced driver assistance systems.

“Soon, your Volvo will be able to drive autonomously on highways when the car determines it is safe to do so,” said Henrik Green. “At that point, your Volvo takes responsibility for the driving and you can relax, take your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel. Over time, updates over the air will expand the areas in which the car can drive itself. For us, a safe introduction of autonomy is a gradual introduction.”