Volvo has revealed the details of the brand’s largest all-electric SUV, a model called the EX90, which will be launched in 2023. The company says it will be one of the safest cars ever produced. Thanks to Lidar technology, the car will be able to detect pedestrians even at night at a distance of 250 m. The system will monitor the driver’s attention and warn him if he is not looking at the road enough. The car will be able to automatically brake and steer to avoid obstacles.

The EX90 will be the brand’s largest all-electric SUV and will feature Lidar (laser) technology for the first time, which the company says will reduce the likelihood of serious accidents by 15-20%. With the help of laser pulses, you can instantly and with maximum accuracy measure the distance to any obstacle.

A car, for example, will be able to determine that there is a pedestrian on the road from a distance of 250 m, even if it is night and the vehicle is traveling at high speed.

The complex traffic control system consists of eight video cameras, five radars and 16 ultrasonic sensors. The lidar system makes a “map” of the car’s surroundings and can act instead of the driver, reducing the car’s speed and even turning to avoid an obstacle at the last moment.

The company talks about an “invisible safety shield” around the car, but adds that advanced technology will also work inside, where a dual-camera system will monitor the driver (and especially his gaze) and be able to see when the driver starts to lose focus.

The system will be able to “see” when the driver is taking their eyes off the road more often, as well as monitor how the driver moves the steering wheel to determine if the driver is tired and not paying attention to the road.

Volvo calls it a “driver understanding system”.

Sources: Volvo Cars, Autocar UK, Automotive News