Volvo.

Volvo Cars is developing a new kangaroo detection technology to cut down a major cause of traffic collisions in Australian highways.

As part of the research, a team of safety experts from the company travelled to the south-east of Australia, near Canberra, to document the roadside behaviour of kangaroos in their natural habitat.

The data collected will be used to develop the kangaroo detection and collision avoidance system.

A constant risk along the major highways and main roads in Australia, kangaroos travel at high-speed during night, increasing the risk of accidents.

"We are confident we can refine our technology to detect them and avoid collisions on the highway."

The National Roads & Motorists’ Association (NRMA) reveal that the Australian roads see roughly 20,000 collisions involving kangaroos every year, costing more than A$75m in insurance claims.

To address this problem, the firm is developing a new solution that uses radar and camera technology to detect kangaroos and automatically apply brakes to avoid an accident.

Volvo Cars senior safety engineer Martin Magnusson said: "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.

"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."

The brakes can be primed in milliseconds, making it much faster than a human reacts.

"We are only at the beginning of what is possible," Magnusson added.

Volvo Cars is currently conducting its kangaroo detection research at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve near Canberra, which is considered to be one of the major areas for kangaroo collisions.

Image:A team of safety experts from the company document the roadside behaviour of kangaroos in their natural habitat. Photo: courtesy of Volvo Cars.