It’s true. Volvo’s trial of the new technology here has been halted – because our jumping marsupials is throwing off the cars’ “Large Animal Detection” system.
The technology is designed to pick up large animals such as cattle and sheep along the road so the car can avoid them.
“We’ve noticed with the kangaroo being in mid-flight … when it’s in the air it actually looks like it’s further away, then it lands and it looks closer,” Volvo Australia’s technical manager David Pickett told the ABC.
Because the cars use the ground as a reference point, the detection system becomes confused by a hopping kangaroo as they can’t work out how far away it is.
Down Under – and out
The Swedish car company had originally created the detection software by testing it out on moose in Sweden before sending a team to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve in Canberra 18 months ago to study our national emblem.
So far – no luck.
But Mr Pickett promises the rollout of the self-driving cars in 2020 will not be delayed however so they will have to sort out the ‘roo issue before then.
That’s good to know. The NRMA estimates that there are over 16,000 collisions with kangaroos every year, with nearly 1,000 in Canberra – making it the biggest roo collision spot in the country.
Let’s not add to the road toll.
