A new life-saving wearable cycling tech concept (International CES, Las Vegas, 6-9 January 2015)

In a ground-breaking collaboration, Volvo Cars, protective gravity sports gear manufacturer POC and Ericsson will present an innovative safety technology connecting drivers and cyclists for the first time ever at the International CES in Las Vegas (6-9 January 2015).

The technology consists of a connected car and helmet prototype that will establish 2-way communication offering proximity alerts to drivers and cyclists and thereby avoid accidents.
No car manufacturer has previously put a stake in the ground to help address the problem by using Connected Safety technology – until now.

The global growth in cycling continues unabated as commuters take to their bikes. This has resulted in an increase in serious cycling accidents, an issue that Volvo Cars and POC believes is unacceptable and requires an innovative and concerted effort to address. Volvo Cars’ City Safety system - standard on the all-new XC90 - is a technology that can detect, warn and auto-brake to avoid collisions with cyclists. It was the industry’s first step to seriously address cyclist safety.

Using a popular smartphone app for bicyclists, like Strava, the cyclist’s position can be shared through the Volvo cloud to the car, and vice versa. If an imminent collision is calculated, both road users will be warned – and enabled to take the necessary action to avoid a potential accident. The Volvo driver will be alerted to a cyclist nearby through a head-up display alert – even if he happens to be in a blind spot, e.g. behind a bend or another vehicle or hardly visible during night time. The cyclist will be warned via a helmet-mounted alert light.

In a ground-breaking collaboration, Volvo Cars, protective gravity sports gear manufacturer POC and Ericsson will present an innovative safety technology connecting drivers and cyclists for the first time ever at the International CES in Las Vegas (6-9 January 2015). The technology consists of a connected car and helmet prototype that will establish 2-way communication offering proximity alerts to Volvo drivers and cyclists and thereby avoid accidents. No car manufacturer has previously put a stake in the ground to help address the problem by using Connected Safety technology – until now.

Cycling statistics:

• Globally, 132.3 million bicycles were sold in 2013 (source: NPD Group 2013)
• Beijing government hopes, ¼ of people would use cycling to commute in 2015 (source: The Guardian, November 2013)
• In the Swedish city of Gothenburg alone, the number of bikers raised 30% in 2013 (source: Göteborgs Posten, November 2014)
• 4,533 cyclists were injured in Berlin only in 2012 (source: The Guardian, November 2013)
• 55% of cyclist fatalities in EU-23 countries occur in urban areas (source: CARE Database, European Commission 2012). In US 69% of all cyclist deaths in 2012 occurred in urban areas (source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration/Traffic Safety Facts April 2014)'
• (On the road) serious injuries for UK cyclists in 2013 were 31% higher than in 2009 (source: Department for Transport, Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2013 Annual Report)
• In US 726 cyclists were killed in 2012, an increase in 6.5% compared to 2011 and 49’000 were injured, +2.1% vs. 2011 (source: NHTSA/Traffic Safety Facts, November 2013)
• The total cost of bicyclist injuries and deaths is over $4 billion per year in the US (source: National Safety Council 2012)
• In Germany, The Netherlands and Poland more than 85% of cyclist fatalities occurred at crossroads (source: CARE Database, European Commission 2012)
• In some countries, pedestrians and cyclists constitute more than 75% of road deaths (source: WHO Fact Sheet # 358, March 2013)