A Volvo engineer quoted in the company’s release puts its best, largely because he references both moose and reindeer: “In Sweden we have done research involving larger, slower moving animals like moose, reindeer and cows which are a serious threat on our roads”.
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Based on the information gathered by the National Roads & Motorists’ Association (NRMA), there are more than 20,000 accidents with kangaroos on the roads of Australia each year and this generates more than 75 million AUD in insurance claims.
Now the Volvo team is at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve near Canberra, where they are collecting the data. “We are confident we can refine our technology to detect them and avoid collisions on the highway”.
The system already exists in Sweden, which automatically hits the breaks on a auto if an animal is detected.
A radar sensor in the grille of the auto, paired with an advanced camera in the windscreen, scans the road ahead to detect animals, as well as other obstructions like other cars, bicyclists and pedestrians. “This is why it’s important that we test and calibrate our technology on real kangaroos in their natural environment”, he says.
Volvo said the system processes 15 images every second and can react to an emergency in half the time of a human.
The detection and avoidance software is part of Volvo’s plan to have no injuries or fatalities in any of its new vehicles by 2020.
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“This type of technology is not created to take responsibility away from drivers. If the driver is inattentive, the auto will warn him or her and eventually intervene with hard braking to avoid a potential collision”. Kangaroos are the nation’s largest marsupial and can reach speeds up to 60 kilometres per hour. Volvo calls this Kangaroo Detection Technology.
