"We are very happy that Chalmers will join our aim to pinpoint the societal benefits of autonomous driving," says Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Car Group. The academic perspective will be crucial for our efforts to integrate self-driving cars in real-life traffic and position Sweden as a leader in the development of future mobility.
Chalmers is joining the original partners Volvo Car Group, the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency, Lindholmen Science Park and the City of Gothenburg in this one-of-a-kind collaboration, which is endorsed by the Swedish Government.
Chalmers – adding an academic perspective on self-driving cars
"Drive Me is perfectly in tune with our aim to be a an academic powerhouse in the field of automated transport solutions. We will bring knowledge and research capacity to the broad Drive Me approach, which is crucial to ensure an efficient integration of technological and organizational mobility solutions in the future," says Karin Markides, President and CEO of Chalmers.
As the academic partner in Drive Me, Chalmers will strengthen the project’s scientific dimension, including independent research and programmes for educating new experts."The partnership in Drive Me will enable Chalmers researchers and teachers to be on the frontline of the rapidly emerging field of automated transport solutions - a societal challenge that must be addressed in collaboration between many stakeholders. Traffic safety is becoming even more important, it will be a boundary condition for successful implementation of automated driving. The Drive me project is a great opportunity for both research and education and will give opportunities to get access to, and make use of, international research networks," says Anna Nilsson Éhle, director of SAFER Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers and Excellence Profile Coordinator at Chalmers Transport Area of Advance.
About Drive Me
Drive Me is a unique large-scale autonomous driving pilot project in which 100 self-driving Volvo cars will use public roads in everyday driving conditions. The cars will be driven autonomously on approximately 50 kilometres of selected roads in and around Gothenburg, Sweden. The roads are typical commuter arteries and include motorway conditions and frequent queues.
The project was initiated in 2013. The first test vehicles have been on the roads in Gothenburg since 2014 – and Volvo Cars has recently taken a major leap forward by presenting a complete system solution for the self-driving cars. The public pilot is scheduled to start in 2017.
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