Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has filed patents for a unique car steering system that enables the vehicle to be operated from both the Right-Hand Side of the vehicle as well as the Left-Hand Side. The complete steering system with the instruments panel is able to slide from the Left-Hand Side to the Right-Hand Side. This innovative system will allow Volvo to streamline its manufacturing process meaning the brand will not have to engineer market-specific LHD and RHD vehicles, cutting down on development costs.
According to sources, the patent for the steering system was filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office back in 2019 but the patents were published in late September. The Swedish brand is likely to employ fly-by-wire technology for the steering system to operate without any mechanical linkages. The patent images show a rail-mounted underneath the dashboard fascia that will allow the complete steering system along with the driver’s information display to slide on the desired side. The brand is likely to use a pressure-sensitive panel in the floor for the throttle-by-wire and brake-by-wire system completely axing the physical connection systems. Both the front footwell are likely to come with the pressure-sensitive pedals and they will be activated on the side where the steering system is shifted.
The new steering system is likely to be complemented by Volvo’s Autonomous driving technology and safety system such as the LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology which will be employed in the SPA2 (Scalable Product Architecture) platform arriving with the next-generation XC90 in 2022. The LiDAR system works by emitting millions of pulses of laser light that bounce back from obstacles creating a 3-dimensional map. The 3D mapping done through LiDAR technology does not require internet connectivity and is a sensor-based mapping system that can detect objects in the environment in real-time and at high speeds enabling it to be used on the highways.
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