Self-driving cars foiled by kangaroos, and everyone’s laughing about it
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And we thought the new-age self-driving technology was going to be a ground-breaker. Nope. Turns out that those marsupials make it hard for those cars to operate correctly, and here’s why.
If you’re big in the automotive industry, chances are pretty good you’re well aware of the latest trend aside from Uber and EVs: they’re called self-driving vehicles. The biggest rage we’re seeing, except there’s just one problem now:
Kangaroos Seem to Make It Hard for the Self-driving Technology to Work Correctly!
….What? Yep, it’s true — studies have shown specifically from the car maker Volvo that its “Large Animal Detection” system implemented as part of the self-driving car initiative flops whenever kangaroos are in the midst. Sure, it works for other animals like deer and cattle, but there’s a big reason why kangaroos seem to go unnoticed.
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They hop. That’s why. It apparently messes with the detection system, making it near impossible for a self-driving car to spot a kangaroo and make the appropriate adjustments. That means if a ‘roo ends up hopping out in the middle of the street, you better be on your A-game and disengage the self-driving capability! Or you’ll have marsupial body parts all over your ride. Not something you want on a fine day driving around in the Outback.
This doesn’t mean, though, that Volvo, and other car makers for that matter, have given up on the tech. They’re making tweaks. The technology was tested out in Sweden where moose are, and researchers even to this day are still making adjustments when dealing with ‘roos. The problem is when they ‘hop’, the detection system registers the animal as a lot farther away than it really is. When the ‘roo lands, the system adjusts a bit too late, and before you know it…. CRASH.
The Good News Is That Most Likely the Issue Will Be Solved Before Self-Driving Cars Officially Start Selling in 2020
We hope so. Because the fact is even with regular vehicles, kangaroo collisions in Australia are pretty common. 80% of accidents Down Under occur involving the ‘roos, for a total of 16K collisions annually. If researchers solve their little tech issue, this could mean a massive celebration for Aussies everywhere!
And kangaroos. And other hoppity animals, too, we’re thinking.
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