Volvo EX90’s Driver Understanding System

 When TIME Magazine calls your invention one of the best of the year, it’s either a sign of brilliance or, in some cases, the closest a car can come to becoming your personal therapist. This year, Volvo's EX90 and its "Driver Understanding System" made TIME's list of 2024 Best Inventions, proving that Volvo isn’t just in the business of making cars safer but in the business of making cars…smarter than us. And we’re here for it.

The EX90’s new system is like having an extremely caring, non-judgmental co-pilot riding shotgun. Feeling drowsy? EX90 knows. Distracted by a bag of fries on the passenger seat? EX90’s watching. Having an existential crisis because you forgot your reusable cup at home? EX90’s got its virtual hand on your shoulder. At this point, we’re wondering if the EX90 can help us find our lost keys or maybe remember the names of our kids’ friends’ parents at school functions. Because let’s face it, the EX90 is starting to sound like the life coach we didn’t know we needed.

How Does it Work? (AKA Why Are We No Longer in Charge?)

The Driver Understanding System, which comes standard with the EX90, uses real-time sensing technology to monitor the driver’s every move, in a helpful way, of course. Let’s say you’re dozing off (despite an over-caffeinated existence) or you get a little too lost in that new podcast, the system jumps in with a gentle nudge to bring you back to reality. Ignore that, and it turns up the urgency. We’re envisioning this going from a soft chime to something like your mom reminding you for the third time to pick up your laundry.

If all else fails, say you actually nod off (because maybe you shouldn't have started binge-watching that true-crime doc at 1 a.m.), the EX90 will safely stop the car and put on its hazard lights to alert other drivers. It’s as if Volvo thought of everything—like every possible scenario where we humans, tragically, do human things.

A Legacy of Smarts

Volvo isn’t exactly new to this whole “keeping humans safe from themselves” game. We’re talking about the same brand that gave us the modern three-point safety belt back in 1959—a design Volvo let other carmakers use for free because they actually wanted to save lives, not just brag about it. Fast forward to today, and it’s as if the EX90 is saying, “Yes, yes, the seatbelt was a great start, but let’s keep you awake and aware, shall we?”

Some say it takes 1 million saved lives to earn a place in the Safety Hall of Fame, but Volvo’s here with more than seatbelts and airbags now; it’s stepping into the world of driver psychology. We’re betting that in a few years, a chat with the EX90 might just replace morning coffee.

So, What’s Next?

The EX90 is built to keep getting better over time. Thanks to over-the-air updates, the car learns from real-time data and just keeps upgrading itself. So if you're worried about staying up-to-date, your Volvo has you covered—even if that means it soon starts “suggesting” podcasts or reminding you to breathe deeply when traffic gets tight.

In short, Volvo’s EX90 might just become the most attentive car on the road, blending the line between a car and a personal assistant. So here’s to Volvo’s invention making TIME's Best Inventions list—and here’s to a future where our cars know us just a little too well.

Buckle up, folks. The age of the supportive, all-knowing car is here, and it's surprisingly comforting.