Volvo, Uber share the ride to safety with autonomy

The news that Volvo Cars, renowned for its safety focus, and ride-sharing company Uber, are working together to develop next generation autonomous driving (AD) cars eventually reaching full SAE Level-5 standard (no steering wheel or controls), may bring comfort to those who are scared, skeptical or just scorn the advent of being driven by such radical robotics.

But this latest development sees a further step to AD being taken in parallel with Volvo's avowed intent that no one traveling in its new models from 2020 onwards will be killed or seriously injured. That bold statement was first uttered in 2007, presaging the introduction or development of a plethora of safety features that the automaker believes will enable it to achieve its target.