Volvo's driverless SARTRE project takes on public roads of Spain (video)

Tailgating on the highway at high speeds is quite a dangerous affair and, at times, things can turn downright ugly within the blink of an eye. However, in the coming years, it could very well be the way forward in easing up traffic jams on the highways given the fact that a huge chunk of motorists end up clogging the road while keeping too big a distance up ahead  - well, at least that’s what Volvo believes. The Swedish carmaker – known for its innovative approach towards high level of safety – has come up with yet another revolutionary safety research program, this time with the ‘Safe Road Trains for the Environment’ Project or SARTRE. 

The project basically aims to look for a standard way to have ‘trains’ of self-driven cars that can follow each other on the highway. It will allow drivers to spend their time doing other things while an array of cameras, laser sensors and radars upfront monitor the lead vehicle and control the throttle, brakes and the steering movements accordingly.      

Volvo has upped the ante by testing its SARTRE project on the public roads of Spain, which up until now, had been put to test within the confines of a closed test circuit. The project involved a ‘road train’ that included one leading truck and a convoy of 3 Volvos trailing behind, namely the XC60, V60 and S60. The cars followed the truck (relying entirely on radar, cameras and a slew of laser sensors) at a steady 85kph while keeping a distance of 6 metres between each other. The vehicles successfully covered a distance of about 200kms along the Spanish motorways with other motorists. 

"We covered 200 kilometres in one day and the test turned out well. We're really delighted," says Linda Wahlström, project manager for the SARTRE project at Volvo Car Corporation.

"We've learnt a whole lot during this period. People think that autonomous driving is science fiction, but the fact is that the technology is already here. From the purely conceptual viewpoint, it works fine and road train will be around in one form or another in the future," she added.