Volvo Tests Road Magnets for Self-Driving Cars

Road-integrated magnets remain unaffected by physical obstacles or poor weather conditions unlike GPS or cameras and remain the most reliable and accurate in the positioning of self-driving cars, according to Volvo.

by Staff

March 12, 2014

Volvo Tests Road Magnets for Self-Driving Cars — Photo courtesy of Volvo.

1 min to read

Volvo Car Group has completed a research project using magnets in the roadway to help an automated car determine its position, the automaker has announced.

"The magnets create an invisible railway that literally paves the way for a positioning inaccuracy of less than one decimetre. We have tested the technology at a variety of speeds and the results so far are promising," said Jonas Ekmark, Volvo's preventive safety leader.

During the test, Volvo created a 100-meter (328-foot) track at the company's testing facility in Sweden. The company used ferrite magnets located 200 mm (7.87 inches) below the road's surface.

Topics:Autonomous Vehicles Connected Vehicles Connected Car Volvo Safety Global Fleet

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