Volvo Car Group and the Swedish Transport Administration have worked together on a research project that employs magnets to help a self-driving car determine its position. According to the Swedish automotive company, road-integrated magnets are unaffected by conditions such as physical obstacles and poor weather conditions.

Instead, they create an “invisible railway,” according to Volvo’s preventive safety leader Jonas Ekmark. “We have tested the technology at a variety of speeds, and the
results so far are promising. Our aim is for the car to be able to handle the driving all by itself. Accurate, reliable positioning is a necessary prerequisite for a self-driving car.”

The research project involved the creation of a 100m-long test track at the automotive company’s Hällered facilities. Matters such as detection range, reliability, durability, cost and the impact on road maintenance were studied. “Our experience so far is that ferrite magnets are an efficient, reliable and relatively cheap solution, both when it comes to the infrastructure and on-board sensor technology. The next step is to conduct tests in real-life traffic.”