When the Brussels Motorshow, a crucial sales touchpoint for car brands, was cancelled, FamousGrey had the idea to develop the ‘VolvoStreet Configurator’, a disruptive digital tool that recognises the exact configuration of every Volvo you come across. The tool makes Volvo the first car brand to enable model recognition through AI and is in line with the brand’s ambitious climate goals.
In their 2030 objectives, Volvo announced they are going to sell cars in a new, more sustainable way. The ‘Volvo Street Configurator’ does just that, as it offers you valuable information about every Volvo you come across. Saw a Volvo you like in the streets? Just take a picture, upload it on the application and the new tool will give you every detail about the model, colour, trim level and wheels. The tool will then redirect you to Volvo’s website to finalise the configuration and refer you to either a closeby retailer or to buy the car online. Through AI, the tool connects real life with e-commerce, which brings Volvo a little closer to revolutionizing the way we buy cars.
A.I. training with 100,000 pictures
The ‘Volvo Street Configurator’ is the first tool that recognizes an entire car range through AI. One of the biggest challenges to create the configurator was the data collection. For this, the agency collected more than 100,000 images of models, colours, rims, etc. This information was collected by a combination of Google and 3D-models, which were placed in a real-life simulation by computer. 10,000 photos were collected manually and by 3 professional Belgian street photographers who captured the cars in their natural habitat. The images of these photographers were not only used as data, but also for the campaign ‘The Street is Our Showroom’ to show the omnipresence of Volvo in the Belgian streets.