Volvo cars developing kangaroo detection technology to reduce collisions in Australia

Makers of Volvo cars in Sweden are developing kangaroo detection technology for Australia to solve the menace of costly traffic collisions. The preliminary research on the technology has started at the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve near Canberra.

A team of Volvo’s safety experts visited Canberra and filmed the roadside behavior of kangaroos. Canberra has reported maximum cases of kangaroo collisions. The data collected by Volvo cars will go into developing the first ever kangaroo detection and collision avoidance system, reported Telematics Wire.

Soaring accidents

The records with National Roads & Motorists’ Association suggest that over 20,000 kangaroo strikes on Australian roads are reported each year and they cost $75 million in terms of insurance claims. The human cost of injuries and fatalities from animal collisions is tremendous.

According to a BBC report, an adult kangaroos weigh 200lbs and run at more than 35mph speed with the ability to leap 25 feet high. Volvo's technology works around cameras and radars that detect kangaroos just as detecting cars, cyclists, pedestrians, and will prime the brakes in nano seconds to bring the vehicle to a quick stop.

In case the driver does not react, the car will automatically brake hard to avoid the collision. The surprise will be the reaction time from kangaroo detection will drop from 1.2 seconds (human) to 0.05 seconds with Volvo.

How it works?

While the vehicle moves the radar sensor scans the road for moving objects. Simultaneously, an advanced light-sensitive, high-resolution camera in the windscreen will help the computer to decide the right action to be taken. Once the object is detected, it takes only 0.05 seconds for the automated system to react to the situation.

That there will be a good market for the new technology is apparent from the data from leading insurers showing that vehicle collisions with animals on Australian Capital Territory roads have spiralled in the past few years.

The AAMI data showed thousands of claims related to animal collisions in the ACT with an 84 percent spurt from 2009-10 onwards. In Canberra, Queanbeyan and its adjacent parts in the ACT, are known as the nation's "roo crash capital," reports Canberra Times. For insurers, kangaroos make up 90 percent of ACT animal-collision claims.

AAMI corporate affairs manager Reuben Aitchison also confirmed Queanbeyan’s reputation on kangaroo accidents.

“The 2620 postcode, around Queanbeyan, consistently tops our national table for animal accident hotspots, and the vast majority of these are with kangaroos,” he said.

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