Volvo Unveils World's First Cyclist Detection System With Automatic Braking

Volvo has unveiled the world's first cyclist detection system that offers fully automatic braking, causing the car to stop itself if a cyclist swerves in front of the vehicle. According to the manufacturer, Cyclist Detection is built upon its already existing detection and automatic braking technology, and will be implemented into all vehicles that use pedestrian detection.

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]