Three Volvo cars and a truck followed a leading truck for 200 km, without their drivers even having to hold the steering wheel! The first – successful – test of SARTRE on a public road network took place on a motorway near Barcelona. SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) is partly funded by the European Commission and Volvo is among the participating companies. The test involved three models of the Swedish car manufacturer, an S60, a V60 and an XC60.
The vehicle he was driving was traveling at 85 km/h and was driven by a professional driver. He determined the course, accelerated, braked or stopped and the vehicles following simply “mimicked” his movements.
The program is based on Ricardo UK Ltd’s autonomous control system and Volvo technology, with cameras, radar and laser sensors. The vehicles are connected wirelessly to the lead vehicle, so their drivers can even read a magazine. The purpose of the program is to be implemented in the future, in order to reduce accidents, consumption and emissions.