The system is straight-forward: sensors keep an eye out for pedestrians and cyclist in front of and near the car, including those walking on foot and others on bicycles. While monitoring the individuals, if one of them makes a sudden change of direction in front of the car and the sensors determine that a crash will happen, the brakes are fully and automatically applied, bringing the car to a stop. You can see how it works in the video below.

According to the unveiling announcement, approximately half of the cyclist killed in Europe are hit by a car, something Volvo’s detection system aims to reduce. This feature will roll out in the middle of this upcoming May, and will be available in the following models: Volvo V40, S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80.

Volvo’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Customer Service Doug Speck had this to say: “As the leader in automotive safety, we have been first in the industry with all detection and auto brake technologies, from the first-generation brake support in 2006 to pedestrian detection with full auto brake in 2010 … By covering more and more objects and situations, we reinforce our world-leading position within automotive safety. We keep moving towards our long-term vision to design cars that do not crash”

[via Volvo]

The Volvo infotainment system uses a seven-inch touchscreen that runs the Google Android operating system. That seven-inch screen uses Neonode Multisensing technology to create an advanced touch interactive infotainment system that is easy for drivers to use. Volvo and Neonode note that the system is specifically designed and developed to fulfill strict safety regulations.

The goal during development was to create an infotainment system that delivers lots of capability while minimizing distraction to the driver. Neonode says that the technology used provides a 100% transparent no-glare interface that is undisturbed by electrical interference and other light sources, including sunlight. The technology is based on infrared light enabling touch control using any type of object including gloved fingers, car keys, styluses, or ordinary pens.

Many of the touchscreen devices we’re familiar with will only work when touched with a bare finger. The infotainment system allows drivers to navigate the Internet using a full web browser when stopped. It also has integrated navigation capabilities with a connected GPS function. The system will also play information about what you’re seeing as you drive and offers access to weather reports and lots of other information and data.

[via Volvo]

The five awarded vehicles are comprised of Honda‘s 2-door and 4-door Civic, Volvo’s XC60, Ford‘s Lincoln MKZ, and the Mazda6. All but the Mazda6 are 2013 models, with the Mazda6 being the 2014 model. The Institute’s crash test put a quarter of each vehicle’s front end into a 5-foot barrier at a speed of 40mph.

Other tests include rear, rollover, and side tests, as well as one designed to see how the car holds up when the front corner is crashed into a pole or car. The latter is known as the “small overlap test,” with vehicle’s being rated with either a “good” or “acceptable” rating, which is then factored into the ratings of the other tests.

Honda’s Civic stood out among the winners, being the first small car to be bestowed with the Top Safety Pick+ award. The car underwent “significant” changes and upgrades to its front end in order to improve its rating on the small overlap test. In addition, Volvo also made changes to score better on that test, updating its airbag algorithm so the side curtain airbag would be triggered by the impact.

[via Detroit News]

Ericsson’s Connected Vehicle Cloud offers the Spotify integration, among other things, and is designed to serve as a means to connect to those services. For now at least, the system will utilize the driver’s data connection via their smartphone. Another option will be the ability to use a secondary SIM card on the driver’s data plan.

Although the current focus is Volvo, Ericsson stated that it will also be pushing the service out to other automakers. “We are going to try and work with different industry players,” says Ericsson’s Consulting and Systems Integration head Paolo Colella. “We will try to spread the use of these applications to other automakers and in other areas.”

This is in addition to Volvo’s widely available On Call system, which includes a mobile app that allows car owners to control their vehicles – portions of it, anyway – via their mobile device. The service requires payment for its own data connection, however, a limiting factor in Volvo’s desire to provide services like, for example, Spotify. That is why, at least for now, Ericsson’s Connected Vehicle Cloud utilizes the driver’s already existing data plan via his or her smartphone.

[via Wired]

According to Volvo, the dashboard will soon offer the same sort of digital services as drivers are familiar with from home or work. Information, navigation, and entertainment will all be offered from a central screen, and Volvo will be looking to third-party providers such as internet radio, road authorities, governments, toll-road operators, and others, to tie in with the system.

The connection between Ericsson’s Connected Vehicle Cloud system and the individual cars will be encrypted, so as to preserve security – a virus in your dashboard is probably something best avoided – and there’s an ambitious roadmap for developing the technology. Volvo has a history of driver behavior and traffic safety tracking, and elements of each will be integrated with future versions.

Although not quite the self-driving cars Google and others are experimenting with, Volvo’s push into smart-car technology is likely to hit the road far sooner than autonomous transport. Meanwhile, rival firms are experimenting with inter-car communications; Toyota set up a nine acre test track in Japan where the road, street furniture, and other elements can talk with the car’s onboard systems, warning of pedestrians, adverse weather conditions, or other emergencies.

Ericsson too has smart city plans of its own. The company revealed its Networked Society Project earlier this year, an ambitious scheme for ubiquitous connectivity:

On the Apple side of things, iPad mini pre-orders went pretty quick today, but not as fast as Apple devices normally go, leaving us to wonder if Apple finally managed to get stock issues right or if the iPad mini just isn’t all that popular. We heard that iPad mini LTE models could arrive as early as November 21, and Apple was seen knocking PC manufacturers for being afraid to drop old technology.

Of course, it would have been a very strange news day if there weren’t any new Nexus leaks, but thankfully we had a couple big ones to report. One Google employee apparently used the camera on the back of the Nexus 10 to snap pictures on his vacation, while we got to see the tablet up close and personal in a series of new leaked photos. Speaking of Google, the company released a new video showing new Windows 8 users how to quickly install Google search and Chrome onto their machines, and we received a new Google Maps update that adds colored terrain, which is a pretty cool feature if you ask us.

There’s a particularly scary Borderlands 2 exploit making the rounds, while Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition players got a skins pack featuring a whopping 55 Halloween-themed skins for just two smackers. Nintendo introduced a new Charizard 3DS XL that’s sure to be super rare, and GameStop announced that it will be opening a number of retail stores aimed at young children. Paul Ceglia was arrested for fraud after it was determined that he forged documents saying he was entitled to a huge stake in Facebook, and Volvo was touting its traffic jam self-driving technology today. Netflix detailed its Windows 8 app today too, so have a look at the company’s new video if you want to get familiar of all of the new features.

We’re almost done with the Wrap-Up, but before we go, be sure to have a look at the original articles that went up today. Chris Davies tells us why he’s cancelled his Microsoft Surface pre-order, while Chris Burns asks if Apple will adopt wireless charging technology if Google introduces it in its Nexus line. Burns also got the chance to interview famed artist Futura at a recent Samsung event, so don’t miss that one! That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you have an excellent weekend!

Of course, it’s not only annoying to be in traffic jams, but they can also decrease your car’s fuel economy with the constant start-and-stop motion, and it can wear out your clutch quicker because you’re always changing gears. Volvo’s new traffic jam assistance system makes sure your car doesn’t wear down quicker than it needs to.

The technology uses a combination of camera and radar sensors in order to keep a safe distance between the car in front, and it’s actually based on the company’s current Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Aid technology that was introduced in the Volvo V40 earlier in 2012. This new traffic jam technology is an evolution of those two features and is expected to go into production in 2014.

Volvo says it can easily handle both straight and curved stretches of road, and is smart enough to steer around unexpected obstacles. Plus, it can be cancelled or over-ridden by the driver at any time. However, one issue we’re curious about that Volvo didn’t mention is how well the car adapts to surrounding vehicles who cut you off suddenly. So while you may experience effortless traffic jam driving, you’ll probably still have to be prepared in case someone tries to butt into your lane at the last second.

The convoy consisted of a Volvo XC60, Volvo V60, Volvo S60, and two trucks. One of the trucks led the pack and was driven by a professional driver, while all the other vehicles were autonomous, using radars, laser sensors, cameras, and wireless technology to mimic the lead vehicle. The cars would accelerate, brake, and turn in the same way as the leading truck.

Volvo’s project manager Linda Wahlstrom was shown driving one of the autonomous cars in the convoy. The system told her when to lift her feet from the pedals and remove her hands from the wheel. As the vehicle synced up with the lead truck, she was able to read a magazine as the car drove itself.

The convoy test was completed on May 22 with the above photo released of the convoy today. The Sartre Project in Spain along with Google’s self-driving cars in the US indicate that technology is ready for autonomous vehicles but legislation and user acceptance remain barriers.

[via Phys Org]

It sounds interesting even if the design is not that attractive to my eyes. The XC60 has 350 hp on tap and using a button on the instrument panel the driver can opt to put the car into one of three available modes. In Pure mode, the car operated on the battery alone. The driving range on a full charge is 35 miles in urban traffic. Hybrid mode uses the gasoline engine and the battery for a combined US rating of 50mpg.

The total range in hybrid mode is up to 600 miles. The final mode is Power where all the grunt the car can muster is used. In this mode, the vehicle uses the 280hp from the turbo four-cylinder engine along with the engine’s torque of 280 lb-ft and the power from the electric motor. That electric motor is rated at 70hp and 148 lb-ft torque. The gas an electric power together pushes the car from 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds. A full charge for the 12kWh battery pack takes 3.5 hours on 220V. The vehicle also has electric 4-wheel drive.

There will be both diesel and gasoline engines in the company’s four-cylinder range. The new engines will use what Volvo calls the VEA or Volvo Environmental Architecture with common rail diesel engines and direct injected gasoline engines. The engines will range from models designed for efficiency to models designed for performance with high power and torque.

Volvo notes that to meet the customer expectation for performance and driver requirements in certain engines it will use a KERS system that has a flywheel that spins at up to 60,000 revolutions per minute. That power will be able to be released to accelerate the car or propel the vehicle once cruising speed is reached. The KERS system will add an extra 80hp to the car and reduce fuel use up to 20%. KERS has been used in the professional racing environment by Porsche.