Kangaroos confusing autonomous vehicles

Volvo Australia is discovering a unique problem as it begins to test autonomous vehicles in Australia – it seems the way kangaroos move is confusing the car’s detection system, ABC Australia reports.
July 6, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

609 Volvo Australia is discovering a unique problem as it begins to test autonomous vehicles in Australia – it seems the way kangaroos move is confusing the car’s detection system, ABC Australia reports.

Volvo’s large animal detection software can recognise animals such as moose, but the company’s researchers are still solving the kangaroo problem. The cars detect animals by using the ground as a reference point in order to determine an object’s distance. When exposed to a kangaroo’s hopping, though, they become ‘confused’.

Volvo Australia's technical manager David Pickett told ABC that the animal’s hopping throws off the car’s animal detection system. "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," Pickett said.

Australia's National Roads and Motorists' Association says 80 per cent of animal collisions in the country involve kangaroos.

In addition to difficulties detecting kangaroos, the cars will need to be adjusted for a few other Australian quirks before they are rolled out. Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative executive director Rita Excell said Australia's many unsealed roads, its unmarked highways, and the huge road trains on regional highways were among the challenges.

According to managing director of Volvo Australia, Kevin McCann, the discovery is part of the development and testing of driverless technology and wouldn’t pose problems by the time Volvo’s driverless cars would be available in 2020.

Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Investments in autonomous driving are accelerating, says report
    January 7, 2015
    Google and various automakers have increased their activity and investments toward the goal of self-driving vehicles, while Google has shifted from its previous strategy to now focus on fully driverless vehicles for the future. If successful, it will have significant implications for the auto industry, according to IHS Automotive, based on findings in its new report, Autonomous Driving: Question is When, Not If, which is an update to a previous report issued early in 2014. OEMs remain geared toward aug
    Read More
  • Australia's first driverless bus takes to the open road
    September 1, 2016
    Australia’s first fully driverless and electric shuttle bus, the RAC Intellibus, has begun on-roads trials in South Perth, following tests in a closed environment, as part of the Royal Automobile Club’s (RAC) plan to trial autonomous vehicle technology. The RAC Intellibus will carry passengers and interact with traffic, parked cars, cyclists and pedestrians as it travels along South Perth Esplanade between the Old Mill, near the Narrows Bridge, and Sir James Mitchell Park.
    Read More
  • Consumer Watchdog calls for stricter safety standards for autonomous cars
    October 20, 2016
    The US Consumer Watchdog is calling on the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to prohibit autonomous vehicles without a human driver capable of taking control until the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) enacts enforceable standards covering the safety performance of robot cars. NHTSA has proposed a voluntary safety checklist that contains no enforceable standards. The proposed DMV rules would require manufacturers to submit that federal checklist before testing or deployin
    Read More
  • Gatehouse Satcom digital twin allows UAVs to 'fly' virtually in development
    May 4, 2023
    Simulation behaves identically to Inmarsat’s physical satellite network
    Read More

Highlighted Content