Volvo and Microsoft Partner on Virtual Reality and Autonomous Tech

The companies will use the software giant's HoloLens glasses to attempt a completely different way for people to interact with vehicles. During this collaboration's announcement at Microsoft headquarters, the Swedish automaker showed its upcoming S90 sedan in the digital world and demonstrated the four-door's autonomous tech.

Microsoft uses the term "mixed reality" for what people see through HoloLens because it's a combination of the digital and real world. The glasses are self-contained, so a person wearing them could freely walk around a virtual vehicle. In the future, HoloLens could allow someone to configure a model's color and trim in this augmented landscape. Volvo even thinks the tech could revolutionize the sales process because dealers could take these goggles to customers to present the whole range of products.

Microsoft and Volvo also want to collaborate on autonomous driving and use predictive analytics to improve safety. The Swedish automaker is already serious about the future of driverless tech and has concepts to show how it could change the way we drive. The brand promises to accept liability for accidents in these piloted vehicles, so there's financial motivation to make them as secure as possible, too.