Volvo Cars to Develop Next Generation Automotive Technologies With Microsoft

Volvo Cars to Develop Next Generation Automotive Technologies With Microsoft

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, November 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

    - With Photo

    Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, will work together with Microsoft, the leading
platform and productivity company, to jointly develop next generation automotive
technologies.

    To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

    http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7668751-volvo-the-virtual-showroom

    The two companies today revealed how Microsoft HoloLens, the world's first fully
untethered holographic computer, might be used in future to redefine how customers first
encounter and explore a car, as well as how cars might be bought and sold in future.

    Areas of future collaboration between the two companies could include autonomous
driving technologies and the utilisation of data generated from connected cars to create
new services.

    Today's HoloLens demonstration was conducted at Microsoft's global headquarters in
Redmond, USA, and showed how mixed reality might be used by customers to configure cars in
three dimensions. With HoloLens, a powerful, wearable computer, holograms are mixed into
the physical world.

    "HoloLens offers the freedom to create a bespoke experience which customers can steer
themselves. Imagine using mixed reality to choose the type of car you want - to explore
the colours, rims, or get a better understanding of the features, services and options
available," said Bjorn Annwall, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Service.

    He added HoloLens technology might also liberate dealers from more traditional sales
environments and allow them to take a car configurator out on the road in small Pop-Up
stores, shopping malls or on the high street, opening up new sales channels and
introducing cars to a far larger potential audience.

    At the HoloLens demonstration today, participating journalists were also given a mixed
reality preview of Volvo's new S90 premium sedan, which will be unveiled in reality at the
North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.

    Today's event offered an indication of the potential of mixed reality to transform the
relationship between the customer and the car. Journalists were able to experience Volvo's
new sedan and its latest autonomous driving technology in 3D before the car has even been
built and launched.

    "We are thrilled to be working with Volvo Cars to reimagine what is possible in car
design, discovery and purchasing. We are excited to be at this intersection of technology
and human-centric design with Volvo," Scott Erickson, Senior Director, Microsoft HoloLens
at Microsoft Corp.

    Today's demonstration marks the beginning of longer term cooperation between Volvo and
Microsoft that will embrace a range of new technologies, all of which have implications
for the automotive industry.

    One area of focus will be autonomous driving. Volvo Cars is a pioneer in car safety
and is leading the way when it comes to connected cars and autonomous driving. It has
announced a programme called Drive-Me in which 100 self-driving and connected cars will be
given to real customers on real roads around the Swedish city of Gothenburg by 2017, the
world's largest autonomous driving experiment.

    Other areas of cooperation are expected to include how information gathered by cars
and their drivers can be used to enhance the driving experience and the possibility of
using predictive analytics to improve safety.

    "We are extremely happy to innovate with Microsoft in the field of future mobility,"
said Klas Bendrik, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Volvo Cars.
"Today's technology will allow us to achieve not only a more sustainable and crash-free
future but also new benefits for our customers and society. Together with Microsoft we aim
to pioneer in this field."

       
         
        Sascha Heiniger 
        sascha.heiniger@volvocars.com 
        EmptyBreak:MARKER 
        Tel: +46-723-717961 

     

    Note to Editors:

    A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA Photowire. It can be
downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at
http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk .

(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140522/683630 )

(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151119/289387 )

    Photo:
    http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140522/683630

    http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151119/289387

    Video:
    http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7668751-volvo-the-virtual-showroom

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140522/683630
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151119/289387
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140522/683630
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151119/289387
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Video:http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7668751-volvo-the-virtual-showroom
Volvo Car Group