Self- Drive Vehicle Are Confused by 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. 

The managing director of Volvo Australia, Kevin McCann, said the discovery was part of the development and testing of driverless technology, and wouldn’t pose problems by the time Volvo’s driverless cars would be available in 2020.
“Any company that would be 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 the data of how the animals can move and behave so the computers can understand it more.”

Earlier this month, Volvo’s Australian technical manager, David Pickett, told the ABC the troubles had arisen because their cars’ object detection systems used the ground as a reference point. 
This meant a kangaroo’s hopping was making it difficult to judge how close they were. “When it’s in the air, it actually looks like it’s further away, then it lands and it looks closer,” he said.

McCann added: “Autonomous cars are a continuing development. A driverless car does not yet exist, and developing technology to recognise kangaroos is part of that development.

Volvo’s detection system was designed in Sweden, where it was tested in areas populated with moose, before trials at a nature reserve in Canberra revealed the problem with kangaroos. Kangaroos cause more accidents than any other animal in Australia, the marsupials are responsible for about 90% of collisions between vehicles and animals, although most are not serious.

A spokeswoman for Robert Bosch Australia, which develops component technology for driverless cars, said their system could theoretically recognise kangaroos. 
“Although it hasn’t been tested in a kangaroo-specific environment, there was an instance where black swans were interfering, and so they had to build into the car the ability to recognise animals,” Amy Kaa said.
Volvo plans to release its first autonomous cars by 2020 and has pledged zero fatalities or serious injuries from all its cars by that time.
“The whole development process has to take in as many variations of conditions as possible,” McCann said. “It’s a fairly drawn-out process. We don’t even refer to it specifically as kangaroo detection, it’s what we call small animal detection.”
The carmaker offers now semi-autonomous features in its S90 and XC90 models, which it says give “a taste of the future of autonomous driving”.

The cars can automatically maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front, and spot potential collisions in urban environments. McCann said a feature called “run-off road assist” would keep passengers safe in near-collisions.

Guardian

You Might Also Read:

Apple's Driverless Cars:

Guidance For Connected Vehicle Security:
 

« Ukrainian Security Call in FBI, NCA & Europol
Insurance: How Cyber Risks Are Evolving »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

Authentic8

Authentic8

Authentic8 transforms how organizations secure and control the use of the web with Silo, its patented cloud browser.

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout enables cyber security professionals to reduce cyber risk to their organization with proactive security solutions, providing immediate improvement in security posture and ROI.

CYRIN

CYRIN

CYRIN® Cyber Range. Real Tools, Real Attacks, Real Scenarios. See why leading educational institutions and companies in the U.S. have begun to adopt the CYRIN® system.

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

Becrypt

Becrypt

Becrypt is a trusted provider of endpoint cybersecurity software solutions. We help the most security conscious organisations to protect their customer, employee and intellectual property data.

Tiro Security

Tiro Security

Tiro Security is a boutique company specializing in information security and IT audit recruitment and solutions.

Netsparker

Netsparker

Netsparker provide a web application security scanner to automatically find security flaws in your websites, web applications and web services.

Armadillo Sec

Armadillo Sec

Armadillo provide penetration testing and vulnerability assessment services.

Echoworx

Echoworx

Echoworx primary and exclusive focus is providing organizations with secure email services.

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)

Southwest Research Institute SwRI are R&D problem solvers providing independent services to government and industry clients. Areas of expertise include Cybersecurity, Intelligent Networks and IoT.

BLOCKO

BLOCKO

BLOCKO is a blockchain specialized technology company that has experienced and achieved the largest amount of business in South Korea.

CICRA Consultancies

CICRA Consultancies

Cicra Consultancies is a company that specializes in cyber security. Our major activities are guided by three main principles: Prevent, Investigate, Prosecute.

Axellio

Axellio

Axellio provides economic, end-to-end cyber security solutions designed for your team, environment, and security objectives, providing packet level visibility across your network.

Ridge Security

Ridge Security

Ridge Security enables enterprise and web application teams, ISVs, governments, education, DevOps, anyone responsible for ensuring software security to affordably and efficiently test their systems.

Quantum eMotion (QeM)

Quantum eMotion (QeM)

Quantum eMotion is a Montreal-based advanced developer leading the way towards a new generation of quantum-safe encryption for the quantum computing age.

Intertec Systems

Intertec Systems

Intertec Systems is an award-winning, global IT solutions and services provider that specializes in digital transformation, cybersecurity, sustainability, and cloud services.

Runecast Solutions

Runecast Solutions

Runecast Solutions is a global leader in AI-powered risk mitigation, security, continuous compliance and more efficient IT operations management.

Argenta Talent Acquisition

Argenta Talent Acquisition

Argenta Talent Acquisition is a recruitment partner specializing in Space and Defense, Intelligence Community, all things Technical, Cyber, and Logistics.

SFY Information Technology

SFY Information Technology

SFY helps companies with Cyber Security and Managed IT, allowing them to focus on what really matters to them.

Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)

Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)

CNCF seeks to drive adoption of cloud native technologies by fostering and sustaining an ecosystem of open source, vendor-neutral projects.