Reuters- Volvo Cars and self-driving sensor maker Luminar Technologies Inc said Wednesday that a hands-free driving system called Ride Pilot will be released in California, though the companies did not give a specific date.
Volvo plans to deploy the technology, which will allow the car to take over driving tasks in limited circumstances, in a forthcoming all-electric SUV that Volvo plans to announce later this year.
Volvo plans to offer customers the self-driving feature as a subscription upgrade after vehicles have already hit the road. The company hasn't set a date for when Ride Pilot will be available.
It has been said that Ride Pilot will not be turned on for customers until it has been tested and validated as safe for use on highways in a number of different conditions. The companies said they want to start testing Ride Pilot later this year in California, pending regulatory approvals.
Luminar will provide a lidar sensor, a key part of the system that helps the car gain a three-dimensional map of the road. The vehicle will depend on an array of five radar sensors, eight cameras and sixteen ultrasonic sensors, all of which are tied together with software from the Swedish firm Zensact.