Volvo Cars developing kangaroo detection system

Volvo Cars is developing kangaroo detection technology to solve one of the most costly causes of traffic collisions in Australia. A team of Volvo Cars safety experts is in the Australian Capital Territory to film and study the roadside behaviour of kangaroos in their natural habitat. The data Volvo Cars collects will be used to develop the first ever kangaroo detection and collision avoidance system. According to the National Roads & Motorists’ Association (NRMA) there are over 20,000 kangaroo strikes on A
November 5, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
7192 Volvo Cars is developing kangaroo detection technology to solve one of the most costly causes of traffic collisions in Australia.  A team of Volvo Cars safety experts is in the Australian Capital Territory to film and study the roadside behaviour of kangaroos in their natural habitat. The data Volvo Cars collects will be used to develop the first ever kangaroo detection and collision avoidance system.

According to the National Roads & Motorists’ Association (NRMA) there are over 20,000 kangaroo strikes on Australian roads each year, costing over AU$75 million in insurance claims. The human cost of serious injuries and fatalities from animal collisions is incalculable.

To help address this Volvo Cars is developing a unique system that uses radar and camera technology to detect kangaroos and automatically apply the brakes if an accident is imminent.

The technology behind this research is an evolution of Volvo’s City Safety which detects cars, cyclists and pedestrians day and night.

A radar sensor in the grille scans the road ahead to detect moving objects, while a very advanced light-sensitive, high-resolution camera in the windscreen works in parallel with the radar to detect which way the object is moving and help the computer decide what action to take, if any.
 
When the object is detected, it takes 0.05 seconds for the computer system to react on the situation. This should be compared with the human reaction time of about 1.2 seconds.

“While Volvo Cars’ pedestrian detection technology is geared towards city driving, our kangaroo detection research is focusing on highway speed situations,” said Martin Magnusson, senior safety engineer at Volvo Cars. “Kangaroos are very unpredictable animals and difficult to avoid, but we are confident we can refine our technology to detect them and avoid collisions on the highway.

“In Sweden we have done research involving larger, slower moving animals like moose, reindeer and cows which are a serious threat on our roads. Kangaroos are smaller than these animals and their behaviour is more erratic. This is why it’s important that we test and calibrate our technology on real kangaroos in their natural environment.”

Location Based Systems Detection, Monitoring & Machine Vision Classification & Data Collection

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New York’s MTA tests new safety technology on buses
    October 5, 2015
    As part of the MTA’s ongoing commitment to improving safety across all agencies and in coordination with New York City’s Vision Zero plan, MTA New York City Transit has begun to test new technologies aimed at improving safety for drivers, bus customers and pedestrians. The 60-day tests of pedestrian turn warning and collision avoidance systems will determine if a full pilot of one or both systems can proceed in 2016. NYC Transit’s Department of Buses is testing two systems on six buses: a pedestrian turn
    Read More
  • euroFOT study demonstrates benefits of driver assistance systems
    June 26, 2012
    Today, the euroFOT consortium published the findings of a four-year study focused on the impact of driver assistance systems in the Europe. The €22 million (US$27.5 million) European Field Operational Test (euroFOT) project which began in June 2008 and involved 28 companies and organisations, was led by Aria Etemad from Ford’s European Research Centre in Aachen, Germany. The study looked at existing technologies and their potential to both enhance safety and reduce environmental impact. euroFOT also reveale
    Read More
  • In-vehicle intersection violation Warning system
    January 31, 2012
    Mike Schagrin, ITS Joint Program Office, RITA, and John Harding, NHTSA, describe US progress towards an in-vehicle Intersection Violation Warning system. In 2008, there were 37,261 fatalities on US roadways. Of these, 7,772, some 20.8 per cent of the total, were defined as intersection crashes or intersection-related crashes. Through a multi-agency research initiative led by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has developed a prototype In
    Read More
  • Autonomous truck platooning moves up a gear with NXP and DAF Trucks
    November 25, 2016
    NXP Semiconductors is setting the pace in truck platooning with full-size commercial vehicles that can run at 80kmph only 11 metres apart, offering up to 11 per cent in fuel savings. The Dutch technology company believes that “there’s no better place than truck platooning to demonstrate the merits of autonomous driving.” Its research team has been working with DAF Trucks to develop leading edge technology that can make driving decisions ‘30 times faster than human reaction time’. NXP says that adapt
    Read More

Highlighted Content