In a ground-breaking move for the automotive industry Volvo Cars and POC will present their new safety technology, which consists of a connected car and helmet prototype that establishes 2-way communication offering proximity alerts to Volvo drivers and cyclists with the aim of preventing accidents and reducing the effects of accidents.

The partnership between POC and Volvo Cars, the Swedish pioneer in automotive safety innovations, was established in January 2014 to exchange knowledge and experience to mutually explore new ideas within safety and design. The initial research and development project has been focused on communication between cars and cyclists.

“Our partnership with Volvo is both humbling and rewarding and aligns very well with our mission to do the best we can to possibly save lives and to reduce the consequences of accidents for gravity sports athletes and cyclists,” says Stefan Ytterborn, POC CEO and founder. “Our mutual view and focus on safety has resulted in a unique concept that can improve road safety through increased interaction between motorists and cyclists.”
 
By using popular smartphone cycling apps, like Strava, the cyclist’s position can be shared through the Volvo cloud to the car, and vice versa. If an imminent collision is calculated, both road users will be warned. The Volvo driver will be alerted to a cyclist nearby through a head-up display alert – even if the cyclist does not appear in view, e.g. behind a bend, another vehicle or during low visibility. The cyclist will also be warned via a helmet-mounted alert light as well as vibration.
 
“The strategic partnership between Volvo, POC and Ericsson is an important milestone in investigating the next steps towards Volvo’s goal to build cars that will not crash anymore,” says Klas Bendrik, VP and Group CIO at Volvo Cars. “In 2013, Volvo was the first car manufacturer to introduce the Cyclist Detection System with fully automatic emergency braking in city traffic. And now with this innovative new technology, we are getting ever closer to eliminating the remaining blind spots between cars and cyclists forever.”
 
The unique safety concept is a result of the all-Swedish partnership between Volvo Cars and POC and has exciting development opportunities and will ultimately help save lives across the whole spectrum of unprotected road users.
 
“We are proud to take this step with Volvo and what we will present at CES is only the first among many initiatives together. We are excited to see how we can continue to contribute to make cycling safer and further support our mission,” adds Stefan Ytterborn, POC CEO and founder.