Volvo has developed technology to assist in s scenario familiar to Australian motorists - the danger posed by large animals such as kangaroos.
In fact Volvo says globally thousands of deaths and injuries are caused each year by cars hitting large animals.
At home in Sweden, some 40,000 collisions each year involve large animals - moose, deer and reindeer lurk near rural roads and Volvo says these large animals provide significant injury risks to drivers and passengers.
Volvo’s new technology uses camera and infra-red light technology and is an extension of its Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake system. However the animal detection system is designed to work at high speeds whereas the Pedestrian Detection technology is city-based and operates at low speeds.
The infra-red components are used for nighttime driving – as most crashes involving animals happen at dusk (again the same with our kangaroos).
Volvo’s system monitors the road ahead, sound an audible alarm if an animal is detected and if the driver does not respond, the brakes are automatically applied.
“The goal is for the system to function at the normal rural highway speeds,” explained Volvo’s Andreas Eidehall. “In cases in which it cannot help the driver entirely avoid the collision, the system will slow down the car sufficiently to help reduce the force of the impact and thus of serious injuries.”
To develop the system, Volvo engineers have been visiting Safari Parks to digitally log film sequences of animals and their behavioral patterns.
Volvo hopes to have the new system on-sale within a couple of years.
