BLIS - Volvo's Blind Spot Technology

BLIS monitors the difficult to see ?blind? area alongside the car

Volvo is synonymous with safety. It is one of the brand's core values, and over the years Volvo has introduced several safety features which are now common to all cars. The lap/sash seatbelt, for example, was first fitted as standard by Volvo in 1959.

Now Volvo is introducing a new safety feature - the Blind Spot Information System, which goes by the lovely acronym of BLIS - to several of its 2005 models.

BLIS uses two digital cameras, and advanced computer software, to recognise the presence of another vehicle or motorcycle in a driver's blind spot.

It will be offered as a $1200 option on the 2005 XC70 and XC90 all-wheel-drive wagons, the V70 wagon, S60 and S80 sedans.

BLIS monitors the difficult to see "blind" area alongside the car, and the offset rear area.

When another vehicle enters this zone - which is 9.5 metres long and 3.0 metres wide - BLIS activates a yellow warning light beside the side mirror on the side where the vehicle is present. A digital camera, fitted to each door mirror, captures up to 25 images each second, and by comparing each image BLIS's computer software is able to recognise the intrusion of a vehicle into the monitored zone.

It works day or night, however in conditions of very low visibility it will not function. The driver is alerted if this is the case. It won't react to parked cars, road barriers, telegraph poles or other roadside fittings.

It's active at speeds above 10 km/h and reacts to vehicles that are driven at up to 20 km/h slower or 70 km/h faster than the car to which it is fitted.

BLIS sounds like a great idea, however you can also minimise the problems caused by blind spots by adjusting your mirrors correctly.

The internal centre mirror should obviously be adjusted to give a view out of the rear window.

Each side mirror should then be adjusted so that, as a vehicle disappears from the left or right side of the centre mirror, it enters the field of view provided by the relevant door mirror.

There is no point in having your door mirrors adjusted to show you the same view, or part of it, as the centre mirror. Adjusting your side mirrors to complement, rather than duplicate, the view of the centre mirror will give you the widest possible field of vision.

However when changing lanes, or overtaking, a quick glance over your shoulder is still advisable, so that you can spot a vehicle which may have passed through the field of vision provided by your side mirrors to the point where it is almost beside you.

Story by Bill McKinnon.