Interior of Volvo EX90. Photo: courtesy Volvo.
TIME magazine named the driver understanding system in Volvo’s new EX90 SUV one of its 2024 Best Inventions.
The driver understanding system inside the EX90 is a pioneering new safety feature that uses real-time sensing technology to understand if a driver is impaired, tired, or distracted and allows the car to step in to support if needed.
In some cases, the EX90 will alert the driver with a soft nudge, followed by more consistent notifications if that initial nudge does not have the desired effect. If the unexpected happens, for example, a driver falling asleep, the EX90 can safely stop the car and warn other road users with its hazard lights.
The driver understanding system in the EX90 is one of Volvo’s latest safety inventions, thanks to knowledge gained from more than 50 years of real-world research. Stemming from Volvo’s insight into how drivers interact with their cars in real life, the EX90’s driver understanding system helps address one of the main gaps towards zero collisions by supporting people based on understanding their behaviours and needs.
Safety has always been a top priority for Volvo, starting with introducing its three-point safety belt in 1959 and later granting free use of its design, which is estimated to have saved a million lives.
The Volvo EX90 SUV, with its driver understanding system, represents a new era of safety for Volvo as the company accelerates toward an ambitious goal of zero collisions.