Volvo Tests Road Magnets to Position Self-Driving Cars

Volvo Car Group reports promising results for a scheme to bury small magnets in roadways that self-driving cars can use to fine-tune their location.

The round ferrite magnets, which are half an inch thick and 1.5 inches across, were buried eight inches below the road surface in lines of seven magnets across two lanes about every 15 feet.

Volvo conducted initial tests on a 100-yard stretch of its test track outside Gothenburg, Sweden. Results at various driving speeds suggest the magnets, used in conjunction with a row of sensors across the bottom of the vehicle, could help a moving car determine its location within about five inches.

Researchers point out that a "railway" of hidden magnets also could be used to help run-off road crashes, guide snow plows in winter and permit narrower road lanes. Volvo says the next step will be to test the magnets on public roadways with real traffic.