Bosch prepares to launch Australian-first automated car trial on regional Victorian roads

Hopping kangaroos are posing a problem for automated car engineers. But this radical move may help them teach automated cars how to respond if they encounter wildlife on the road ahead of an Australian-first trial on rural Victorian roads this year.

Victorian engineers have been filming hopping kangaroos in a radical effort to teach driverless cars how to respond if they encounter wildlife on the road.

Bosch Australia is preparing to lead an Australian-first trial of its automated vehicle on rural Victorian roads in the second half of this year.

While the Tesla-built car has been tested on closed roads, the trial will expose it to live conditions in regional Victoria, where drivers often confront wildlife.

BOSCH DRIVERLESS CAR READY FOR THE ROAD

FISHERMANS BEND TIPPED AS AUTOMATED CAR HUB

Bosch Australia is preparing to lead an Australian-first trial of its automated vehicle on rural Victorian roads in the second half of this year.. Picture: Mark Stewart

Bosch Australia automation team regional president Chris Woods said kangaroos posed a particular problem, and that his team had filmed them in Anglesea as part of the development process.

“They don’t move like other objects, they appear to float … and that can cause problems for detection algorithms,” Mr Woods said.

Volvo has previously warned that its animal detection system has also struggled to identify kangaroos because it uses the ground as a reference point, making it difficult to judge where the animal is as it bounces up and down.

Kangaroos have posed a problem for driverless cars. Picture: Stephen Laffer

Acting Premier @JacintaAllanMP inspects the Bosch automated car that will hit rural Victorian roads in an Australian-first trial later this year. @theheraldsun #springst pic.twitter.com/wRi3bz1aZC

— Tom Minear (@tminear) January 20, 2019

Acting Premier Jacinta Allan announced the trial ­today, the first approved under the state’s new automated driving system permit scheme. She also revealed Bosch had been awarded a $2.3 million grant from a Victorian program to accelerate the development of connected and automated vehicles.

“Victoria is leading the nation in the future of on-road technology and this trial is an exciting step towards driverless vehicles hitting the road,” Ms Allan said.

“The tragic fact is that you’re five times as likely to be killed on a rural road than in the city. That’s why we’re rolling out a record roads investment in rural Victoria — and this is another way we can improve safety and save lives.”

VicRoads is now working with Bosch and the Transport Accident Commission to identify the best site for the trial, which aims to expose the vehicle to different traffic, infrastructure and weather.

Two people will be in the car at all times, with one in charge of the vehicle and the other monitoring its operations. It will be clearly marked so other drivers know it is an automated vehicle.

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Twitter: @tminear

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