Stories
The philosophy of
#HumanMade
Making people’s lives easier, safer, better.
Volvo’s philosophy has always been to put people first. To pioneer innovations for a safer, cleaner, more enjoyable future. What will people need? How will they drive? To answer these questions, it’s sometimes necessary to challenge convention, to find a new path. Delivering solutions that make people’s lives easier, safer, better comes as naturally as breathing. That’s the Volvo way.
Let us take you on a journey
Imagine how much safer your daily commute would be if your car could drive itself whilst using its advanced radar and camera technology to keep an eye on traffic and brake and steer as needed. Well, our future ‘self driving’ cars will be able to do just that. And because they will smooth traffic flow and ease congestion, they’ll benefit the environment, too. Read more about how your car will integrate with your life.
Nobody dies in a new Volvo by 2020
By pushing technological boundaries, we have reduced the risk of being hurt in an accident when in a Volvo by 50% since 2000. And we’re going much further, with our goal that nobody should die or be seriously injured in a new Volvo by the year 2020.
Efficient and environmentally aware
Anders Agfors, Senior Engineer, takes you on a journey through our Drive-E powertrains.
Great ideas come from within
When Volvo presented its inflatable child seat concept to the public a couple of years ago, its innovative design gained international recognition. This compact little creation weighed a mere five kilos, was capable of self-inflating in less than forty seconds and could fit neatly inside a normal-sized rucksack when not in use. The inflatable child seat concept is just one of many successful innovations to have come from Karin André and the team at Volvo’s Corporate Innovation Office.
“We’re always curious and open to new ideas,” explains Karin. “We get a lot of information, and inspiration, from studying customer behaviour and the challenges facing society – both today and in the future. Most of our ideas, however, come from within. From our dedicated colleagues around the world.”
“We’re always curious and open to new ideas,” explains Karin. “We get a lot of information, and inspiration, from studying customer behaviour and the challenges facing society – both today and in the future. Most of our ideas, however, come from within. From our dedicated colleagues around the world.”
In order to collect these ideas, Volvo organises an annual global innovation week known officially as Innovation GiG – Global Idea Generation.
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"We take society's challenges and turn them into opportunities."
The pleasure of problem solving
“Innovation GiG is all about collecting ideas from our different departments around the world. Thousands of people take part. And when it’s over, we usually have several hundred new ideas that we can take back to our labs and start working on. If we discover an idea with real potential, and which measures up to our demands, then we take it to the next stage of development.”
There are certain challenges, however, that Karin and the team at Corporate Innovations especially love trying to solve. “The most interesting projects are the ones that involve trying to solve one of society’s problems. Where we take a challenge society is currently facing and attempt to turn it into an opportunity. We have just started working on such a project. The goal is to investigate and discover ways in which we can re-use materials and products that we no longer use in our cars.”
It’s been said that when you work with what you are passionate about, it isn’t work at all. It’s a pleasure. And as Karin and her dedicated team start work on their next project, I’m sure they would agree. For the rest of us, the pleasure comes from seeing what they will come up with next.
There are certain challenges, however, that Karin and the team at Corporate Innovations especially love trying to solve. “The most interesting projects are the ones that involve trying to solve one of society’s problems. Where we take a challenge society is currently facing and attempt to turn it into an opportunity. We have just started working on such a project. The goal is to investigate and discover ways in which we can re-use materials and products that we no longer use in our cars.”
It’s been said that when you work with what you are passionate about, it isn’t work at all. It’s a pleasure. And as Karin and her dedicated team start work on their next project, I’m sure they would agree. For the rest of us, the pleasure comes from seeing what they will come up with next.
Simple, light, safe
Child car seats are typically bulky, heavy and tedious to mount. Not so Volvo’s inflatable child seat concept. As simple as it is clever, it’s a lightweight, easy-to-pack, easy-to-carry inflatable child seat that’s every bit as safe as a regular child seat. Even grandparents will be happy to carry it.
Breathe deep, breathe clean
Air quality is becoming a huge issue, particularly in congested urban areas – thanks to our climate control system, the air inside your Volvo is often cleaner than the air outside. But we care as much about the air outside in the environment we all share, which is why we have developed low-emissions engines that contribute to cleaner air.
#HumanMade
Everything we do is designed around people, so every innovation we make is designed to simplify and improve your life – and that has always carried through naturally into Volvo’s ethos of car making. Explore our #HumanMade stories, projects and partnerships further.
