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Autonomous cars can't detect roos

Posted on 28 June, 2017

Volvo has announced that its autonomous-driving technology struggles to detect kangaroos. The Swedish brand has been studying kangaroo detection and collision avoidance for almost two years and stated in 2015 that this was the first research into how the animal affects autonomous vehicle sensors. The Volvo's 2017 S90 and XC90 models have large animal detection systems, however elk, deer and other large animals do not move like a kangaroo. "We’ve noticed with the kangaroo being in mid-flight when it’s in the air, it actually looks further away, then it lands and it looks closer," Volvo Australia's head of technology. Volvo still plans to develop a radar and camera detection system that will identify kangaroos and apply the brakes or steer the car away from the animal. According to research from RACV insurance, kangaroos are involved in eight out of 10 animal-related car accidents in Australia. Volvo's target is that no-one is killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo by 2020, which makes this research even more important for people living across the ditch.