In the near future, Volvo cars might be able to communicate with each other to warn motorists of upcoming slippery roads.
The German automaker has been developing a cloud-based system and is working with a fleet of 50 test cars, a group that will "grow considerably" by next winter, Edmunds.com reported.
"Our aim is to make the technology available for our customers within a few years," Erik Israelsson, project leader and cooperative ITS (Intelligent Transport System) at Volvo Cars, said in a statement released on Wednesday.
The Volvo group has been collaborating with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration for the pilot project.
The cloud system works with a mobile phone network to send information through the Volvo database. When a vehicle detects a slippery part of the road, the alert will be sent to all other vehicles through the cloud.
"When the road administrator has access to information from a large number of cars, the data can be used to make winter road maintenance more efficient. The information could help to improve road safety further for all road users. This could also reduce the use of salt when not needed and minimize the environmental impact," Israelsson said in a press release.
The data could also go to road maintenance crews so problematic patches in the road can be fixed as soon as possible; however, Volvo noted that the information "will not include data of unique vehicles."
Privacy is a vital concern as more cars become connected, storing and sending valuable information about the motorists driving them.
The carmaker hasn't announced anything about pricing for the upcoming feature. The Volvo Cars cloud-based system will purportedly include many other communication capabilities for safety and convenience.
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