While Volvo is getting ready to begin their first ever Australian tests for kangaroo safety, a team of experts traveled to the land Down Under in order to study the roadside behavior of kangaroos.

Volvo engineers are going to use the gathered data in order to develop their first ever kangaroo detection and collision avoidance system. The National Roads & Motorists’ Association (NRMA) has revealed that there are over 20,000 kangaroo strikes on Australian roads every year, with insurance claims costs going north of $75 million AUD.

The Swedish manufacturer’s solution is as simple as it is obvious. Their system will use both radar and camera technology in order to detect kangaroos and apply the brakes automatically if an incident looks imminent.

Martin Magnusson, Volvo’s Senior Safety Engineer said that “Whereas Volvo Cars’ Pedestrian Detection technology is geared towards city driving, our kangaroo detection research is focusing on highway speed situations. 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.”

Compared to slower moving animals like moose, reindeer and cows (on which Volvo also did tests), kangaroos are “smaller than these animals and their behavior is more erratic. This is why it’s important that we test and calibrate our technology on real kangaroos in their natural environment.”

Magnusson also stated that Volvo is “only at the beginning of what is possible” in terms of safety technology and that “this type of technology is not designed to take responsibility away from drivers. If the driver is inattentive the car will warn him or her and eventually intervene with hard braking to avoid a potential collision.”

Volvo’s kangaroo detection research is being done at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve near Canberra.

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