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Volvo demos autonomous self-parking car concept

A number of companies are developing autonomous vehicle technology - Google and Audi come to mind - but Volvo is applying its work in the area to a particular usage case: parking. The Swedish automaker has the technology up and running in a concept vehicle, which it says can be dropped off at the curb by its owner and left to its own devices to enter and navigate a car park, then find and park in an available parking spot. Volvo says the process can even be reversed when the owner is ready to go, with the car leaving the car park on its own to meet its key-holder again at the curb.
The vehicle first interacts with Vehicle 2 Infrastructure technology, which places transmitters in the road itself to inform the car (and driver) if the self-parking service is available. The driver then hops out, activates the Self Parking function on his or her smartphone and then leaves the car to do its work. The car uses sensors, all seemingly hidden from view (an advancement of its own in this field), to autonomously navigate the car park, which includes interacting and adjusting to other cars, people and objects.
The technology used here builds off of Volvo's other work in autonomous vehicle research, namely the Safe Road Trains for the Environment (SARTRE) project in which the company managed to create a train of four cars autonomously following a lead truck at speeds up 56 miles per hour. Volvo says the first application of its autonomous research in a production vehicle will happen at the end of 2014 with some level of autonomous steering available in the next-generation XC90. See the system in action by watching the video below.

Volvo Cars, Northvolt to build battery plant with 3,000 jobs

Northvolt's new facility in Skelleftea, Sweden.   STOCKHOLM — Automaker Volvo Cars and battery manufacturer Northvolt will build their joint battery plant in Gothenburg, western Sweden, the two companies said on Friday. The new 50-gigawatt-hour (GWh) plant will create up to 3,000 jobs and make battery cells specifically developed for use in pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars, the Sweden-based companies said. Operations will begin in 2025. The two companies said last year they would form a joint venture to develop batteries, including setting up a gigafactory for production and a research and development centre, a total investment of about 30 billion crowns ($3.3 billion). Northvolt and Volvo said former Tesla executive Adrian Clarke had been appointed to lead the production company. "He comes with a long experience from Tesla as well as around how to build these type of factories," Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson, who also previously worked for Tesla, told Reuters. Volvo Cars head of engineering and operations, Javier Varela, said access to fossil-free energy, skills and infrastructure had been factors for choosing Gothenburg, Volvo's hometown. Competition for talent is fierce, with most battery engineers based in Asia. Tesla and Asian companies such as LG and Samsung SDI are also setting up factories in Europe. Northvolt's gigafactory in the Swedish town of Skelleftea assembled its first battery cell at the end of December, making it the first European company to design and manufacture a battery in Europe. Carlsson said it was running as planned, although he said global supply-chain problems, semiconductor shortages and the COVID-19 had made it more of a challenge. "It has not been the easiest of times," he said. Volvo Cars, majority owned by China's Geely Holding, aims to sell 50% pure electric cars by the middle of this decade and fully electric cars only by 2030. Northvolt, whose biggest shareholder is Volkswagen, has so far receive more than $30 billion worth of contracts from customers such as BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars and Polestar.  

Latest Forza Horizon 3 car pack features a Skyline and a fast Swedish wagon

The steady stream of Forza Horizon 3 car packs shows no signs of slowing down, and the latest Rockstar Energy Drink pack includes enthusiast favorites such as the R31 Skyline and the Volvo V60 Polestar. The car pack also features a couple of sporty two-doors and some off-road oriented machines. Luxury-minded players will be pleased to see both the Bentley Bentayga and BMW i8 make an appearance. People more concerned with ultimate performance will have a different pair to consider. Players will want to check out the Ford trophy truck for busting dunes, and the Radical RXC Turbo for race-car levels of pavement performance. Finally, yet another classic Aussie muscle car appears in the pack: the 1972 Ford Falcon XA GT-HO. For those interested in the new rides, this car pack is included in the Forza Horizon 3 Car Pass, or can be purchased on its own. If only one or two vehicles are must-haves, it's also possible to purchase the cars individually. Related Video: Related Gallery Forza Horizon 3 Rockstar Energy Car Pack Image Credit: Turn10 Studios / Playground Games Toys/Games Bentley BMW Ford Volvo Videos bentley bentayga nissan skyline volvo v60 polestar forza horizon 3