Holden has replaced its long-serving kangaroo test dummy, which was dubbed Robo Roo, with a new model.

The Swedes may have invented the test dummy but we've never heard of them creating a dummy moose (they  think of mooses as marker cones and try swerving around `em instead). But the original Robo Roo was created in 1994 to assist Holden safety researchers studying the effects of vehicle-to-kangaroo collisions.

It enjoyed a brief period of international media stardom when its photograph appeared in US and European daily newspapers, but Robo Roo led a life of hard knocks at Holden’s automotive proving ground at Lang Lang (Vic.) and finished up very much the worse for wear.

Just like its predecessor, the 59kg Robo Roo Series II is a 90 percentile composite of the Western Grey and Red Kangaroos, and was developed with the aid of field collision data analysis.

Approximately 20,000 vehicle-to-kangaroo collisions occur annually throughout rural Australia, with consequences that include vehicle damage, vehicle immobilisation and occupant injury.

Safety engineers working on future Holdens will combine the results of physical testing using Robo Roo and computer modelling, to further research effective crash protection systems.