In the film, four-year-old Sophie remotely controls an 18 tonne Volvo FMX tipper – dubbed Volvo’s toughest truck ever – through a nightmare scenario.
The idea behind ‘Look Who’s Driving’ is, according to Ingela Nordenhav, global marketing and communications director for Volvo Trucks, to expose the FMX to the toughest live test to date – to show just how much the truck can take.
This is the seventh test in Volvo Trucks’ Live Test series, which started with The Ballerina Stunt in 2012 and includes viral successes such as The Hamster Stunt and The Epic Split.
Since this latest film’s go-live event, two more films have been released, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how this Live Test was made.
“We are, of course, delighted that the film has attracted so much attention and that so many people have taken notice of the kind of tough treatment our construction truck, the Volvo FMX, can handle,” comments Nordenhav.
In the recently released background material, viewers can see details of the truck’s remote control system and the techniques used to manoeuvre the heavy vehicle.
“In order to ensure full control of the truck, we needed to be able to control the steering, accelerator and brake with exactly the same degree of precision as if it was being driven by a real driver in the cab,” explains Alister Mazzotti, coordinator for the remote control set-up.
The system’s remote control uses a combination of pneumatics, electronic servo systems, and conventional remote control.
Electronically and pneumatically operated plates were attached to the brake, accelerator and clutch pedals, while the steering wheel and gear selector were operated by electronic servo systems.
To guarantee safety, two remote controls were used, one by Sophie and an emergency unit in the hands of the system’s engineers.
See the new Live Test “Look Who’s Driving” here:
See the video clip about the remote control system here:
In “Behind the Scenes” on “Look Who’s Driving”, the viewer finds out more about the truck’s condition after the test drive and also gets to meet the star of the film, four-year-old Sophie.