Volvo has announced it is working together with Microsoft to jointly develop “next-generation” automotive technologies.

The two companies revealed how Microsoft HoloLens, said to be 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.

Last week, a 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.

“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 and wheels, or get a better understanding of the features, services and options available,” said Volvo marketing sales boss, Björn Annwall.

He added that 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 centres or on the high street, opening up new sales channels and introducing cars to a far larger potential audience.

The demonstration marks the beginning of longer-term cooperation between Volvo and Microsoft that is expected to embrace a range of new technologies, all of which have implications for the automotive industry.

One area of focus will be autonomous driving. Volvo has already 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, making it 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 thrilled to be working with Volvo Cars to reimagine what is possible in car design, discovery and purchasing,” said Microsoft HoloLens senior director, Scott Erickson. “We are excited to be at this intersection of technology and human-centric design with Volvo.”

Source: Volvo

Tags: Aric Dromi, autonomous driving, Björn Annwall, CAD, car design, car sales, Drive Me, futuring, holographic display, HoloLens, Magnus Brodd, Microsoft, Nina Larsen, safety, Shannon Monroe, technology, Volvo