So radical! Volvo’s 2021 XC90 will support level 4 autonomous driving

[TechWeb report] In three years, there will be L4-level autonomous driving production vehicles announced, and drivers will be allowed to doze off on some roads? This may sound too radical. Although autonomous driving is now the focus of the industry, it is recognized that it will be difficult to achieve L4 and L5-level autonomous driving within five years. Due to legal and regulatory reasons and the complexity of the actual road surface, it is not easy to achieve full autonomous driving in a short period of time.

But now Volvo is going to be aggressive! According to Henrik Green, senior vice president of Volvo, they will offer level 4 autonomous driving in the 2021 XC90 model, allowing drivers to sleep on certain roads.

At present, there are no L4-level autonomous vehicles, but they are not passenger cars. Most of them are in special areas such as factories and docks. However, at present, there are no mass-produced L4-level passenger cars officially commercialized.

Volvo’s self-driving system is said to be optional, called the highway assistance system, and the price of this system is not expected to be too cheap. That is to say, it can only be used on relatively stable roads, and other road drivers should still be awake at all times and ready to take over the vehicle at any time.

But the current problem does not seem to be entirely technical, and there is no legal guarantee for level 4 autonomous driving, so it has to be said that Volvo’s move is indeed a bit too radical. Of course, now that technology is developing rapidly, the law is gradually improving. Perhaps in 2021, some regions can already allow this behavior.