Emerging opportunities for wildlife with sustainable autonomous transportation

Autonomous vehicles (AV) are expected to play a key role in the future of transportation, introducing a disruptive yet potentially beneficial change for vehicle-wildlife interactions. However, this assumption has not been critically examined. Here, we introduce a new conceptual framework covering the intersection between AV technological innovation and wildlife conservation to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. We suggest future research within this framework to focus on developing robust warning systems and animal detection methods for AV systems, and to incorporate wildlife-vehicle interactions into decision-making algorithms. With large-scale deployment a looming reality, it is vital to incorporate conservation and sustainability into the societal, ethical, and legal implications of AV technology. We appeal for further debate and interdisciplinary collaborations between scientists, developers, and policymakers.