Autonomous Solutions
Creating an autonomous truck introduces new levels of technology into an already complex vehicle platform. Sensors, computers, software, steering, and braking systems all need to work together as one integrated system. At the same time, autonomous vehicles are intended for high utilization, with the potential to operate for close to 24 hours a day over several years.
That combination puts significant demands on reliability. To achieve this, we apply established and rigorous automotive quality standards to all trucks we build.
Automotive grade quality, sometimes referred to as OEM quality, is the result of a structured approach to developing, testing, manufacturing, and maintaining systems so that they perform as intended, consistently, and over time. For autonomous transport, that is fundamental both to safety and to creating a solution customers can depend on in daily operations.
Quality has to be proven
Commercial vehicles operate in demanding environments. Hardware components can be exposed to vibration, humidity, temperature extremes, mechanical forces, and electrical stresses throughout their lifetime. To achieve automotive grade quality, they must be shown to meet their defined performance and safety requirements consistently under those conditions.
However, this is not achieved by a single successful test. The process begins in early development, during the design verification stage. Its purpose is to verify that the intended design can meet its defined performance and safety requirements. This can involve both simulation and physical testing. At this stage, the components may still be prototypes rather than parts produced through the final manufacturing process.
Once the design has matured, product verification takes the process further. Components produced using the intended manufacturing methods are tested in conditions representative of the real world. This includes exposure to vibration, temperature, and other factors. It is one thing to demonstrate that a design can work. It is another to demonstrate that the component delivers the required performance consistently.
The same principle applies to software. Autonomous vehicles rely on software to perform safely in complex real-world conditions. Software must therefore be verified and validated against defined functional, performance, safety, and cybersecurity requirements, while following applicable automotive software standards and development processes.
As with hardware, software quality is not established through a single test. Verification and validation continue throughout the development, integration, release, and operation in the field.
Together, these activities form part of a broader automotive quality framework that follows a component throughout its lifecycle. From its initial concept through development, production, and eventually service in the field.
An automotive grade component is only the beginning
For commercial vehicles, component quality cannot be considered in isolation. A vehicle can contain individually validated components, but the complete system still depends on how those components are assembled, connected, calibrated, and tested. Manufacturing therefore becomes an essential part of the quality process.
Automotive production uses controlled processes and tools to make sure work is carried out consistently. That can include calibrated tools for applying the correct torque, controlled fitting processes, and calibration of systems at the end of the production line.
This repeatability is particularly important as autonomous technology is industrialized.
Making an autonomous truck adds substantial hardware and software to the base vehicle. Computers, sensors, wiring, cooling, sensor-cleaning equipment, and for on-road trucks, redundant systems all have to be integrated, while ensuring all systems function together
This creates complexity not only in the vehicle itself, but also in how it is manufactured. Some of this equipment is heavy or large, while other components are particularly delicate, and all of them must be fitted within an established manufacturing process. The challenge is to do this without compromising either quality or production efficiency, while ensuring that the same result can be achieved consistently from one vehicle to the next. That repeatability is essential to delivering the reliability required in autonomous operation.
This is an important differentiator between industrialized production and one-off installation. Even if the same high-quality components are used, a controlled manufacturing process provides another level of quality assurance.
Autonomy also adds further complexity through the many additional interfaces between hardware and software, all of which need to function together as part of the complete vehicle. However, this does not mean applying a different quality standard. Volvo applies the same requirements for maturity, readiness, and quality to autonomous tucks as to manually driven trucks. Established development methods, testing, reviews, and production controls provide the framework for managing the additional complexity.
Extending quality throughout the supply chain
Autonomous vehicles combine conventional automotive systems with specialist technologies from a growing range of suppliers. That makes the relationship between the vehicle manufacturer and its supply chain increasingly important.
Volvo Autonomous Solutions uses the quality-assurance framework developed and applied across Volvo Group. It is the same established framework used with thousands of suppliers and products, rather than a separate approach created specifically for autonomy. The framework includes pre-selection audits, reviews during development, verification of test coverage, and processes for handling faults once vehicles are in operation.
While the quality requirements remain consistent, the way Volvo works with suppliers can differ depending on the system being developed. For some autonomous systems, the relationship is more partnership-oriented than a traditional supplier setup. Volvo contributes its knowledge of the complete vehicle while supplier contribute their expertise in the specific functions and design of their components.
Developing the right solution can therefore require close collaboration between both parties, rather than Volvo simply providing a finished specification for a supplier to fulfil. Regardless, achieving automotive grade quality starts well before parts arrive at Volvo’s factories. The same quality expectation extends throughout the supply chain, even when the way of working becomes more collaborative.
Quality continues after production
Just as quality assurance begins well before the factory, they also continue after the truck has left the assembly line. Traceability becomes particularly important once vehicles are operating in the field. If an issue is detected, it must be possible to understand which components are installed in affected vehicles and determine the appropriate action. For instance, replacing a component, carrying out a repair, or updating software.
For an autonomous fleet and a normal truck owner, the ability to identify and address a problem efficiently has a direct effect on vehicle availability and ultimately the value the solution for the customer.
All about uptime
Ultimately, the value of these processes becomes visible in daily operations. Autonomous transport derives a lot of its value from high vehicle utilization. If a truck is intended to operate for around the clock over several years, unplanned downtime can quickly become disruptive and undermine the business case of autonomous transport.
A component that saves money initially but contributes to repeated downtime will have a much larger impact on overall operation. Reliability, availability, and predictable performance are therefore closely connected to the commercial value of autonomous transport.
For customers, the details of automotive grade quality may largely remain behind the scenes. But their combined effect is much more tangible: a vehicle that is available when it is needed and that performs as expected.
Autonomous technology is bringing new capabilities to transport, but those capabilities are built on one of the automotive industry’s most established disciplines. Quality has to be designed in, verified, manufactured consistently, and maintained throughout the vehicle’s life.
The result of this structured approach is automotive grade quality, the same level of quality expected across the trucks manufactured by the wider Volvo Group. Building on tried and tested methods of quality assurance is how we gain trust for the new technology throughout its lifecycle and ultimately buy-in from regulators, customers and the public. For autonomous transport, achieving that is essential to delivering a safe, scalable, and dependable transport solution.
