Driverless test cars in Australia unable to detect kangaroos
Volvo ’s self-driving car is unable to detect kangaroos because hopping confounds its systems, the Swedish carmaker says.
The company's "large-animal detection system" can identify and avoid deer, elk and caribou, but early testing in Australia shows it cannot adjust to the kangaroo's unique method of movement.
Kevin McCann, MD of Volvo Australia, said the discovery was part of the development and testing of driverless technology, and would not pose problems by the time Volvo's driverless cars became available in 2020.
"Any company working on the autonomous car concept would be having to do the same developmental work," he said. "We brought our engineers into Australia to begin the exercise of gathering data about how animals move and behave so the computers can understand it more."..
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