Drivers of Volvo electric vehicles will now receive alerts about animal hazards ahead after the Swedish luxury car maker introduced a new over-the-air software update.
The feature uses the sensors and cameras built into the vehicles to detect dangers wandering onto the road.
The new software update is rolling out to the EX60 sport utility vehicle, the EX90 seven-seater sport utility vehicle and the ES90 electric saloon.
Volvo, a car manufacturer based in Gothenburg, Sweden, has named the new feature Large Animal Alert.
The system warns drivers when a large animal is detected on or close to the road ahead of them.
When the vehicle detects an animal, which can range from sheep and deer to elk, it uploads the location data for the hazard to the cloud.
The system then relays that information to nearby EX60, EX90 and ES90 models.
This process warns other drivers as they approach the area, potentially helping to prevent an accident.
Improving road safety for wildlife
The update could help reduce the number of animals killed on roads in the United Kingdom each year.
Estimates suggest that up to 70 million animals die on British roads annually.
Volvo has built a reputation as a champion of road safety over several decades.
The Swedish brand famously invented the three-point seatbelt, which is now standard equipment in passenger cars worldwide.
The company shared the patent for the seatbelt design with rival manufacturers to improve safety standards across the global automotive industry.
Versions of the new animal detection technology have existed for several years.
Volvo models launched in 2013 featured an earlier Animal Detection technology.
Vehicles released in 2015 introduced Interior Large Animal Detection, which used radar and camera systems to identify large animals.
In those earlier iterations, the driver would receive a warning about the hazard.
If the driver took no action, the car could automatically apply the brakes.
However, the older system was unable to alert nearby vehicles to the danger.
Additional connected safety features
The Large Animal Alert is one of four new Connected Safety alerts introduced in the software update.
A new Vulnerable Road User Alert has also been introduced by the manufacturer.
This feature highlights potential dangers involving pedestrians and cyclists detected on or near the road.
The new Roadwork Alert warns drivers when roadworks are detected ahead on their route.
An Accident Ahead Alert uses real-time connected data to provide advance warning of incidents further up the road.
These four new warnings join the existing Slippery Road Alert and Hazard Light Alert systems.
Those features are among the connected safety tools already available in Volvo vehicles.
Data sharing across the industry
The information gathered by the new alerts will not be kept exclusively within the Volvo ecosystem.
Instead, the hazard data can also be shared through the European Data for Road Safety system.
The European Data for Road Safety system is a platform that allows different brands to exchange safety information.
Manufacturers including Ford, BMW, Volkswagen Group and Geely are signed up to the data sharing system.
Geely, a multinational automotive company based in China, is the parent company of Volvo Cars.
Because these companies participate in the system, appropriate alerts can be passed to other vehicle manufacturers.
The hazard information can also be transmitted to national traffic management centres.
Åsa Haglund, the head of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre, said the innovations build on decades of real world safety insight.
"Built on decades of our real-world safety insight, these innovations represent another step towards our vision of zero collisions," Haglund said.
"Every time a Volvo car shares safety intelligence, it helps other drivers prepare earlier, avoid accidents and feel safer."
