Jaguar Land Rover to Test Autonomous Vehicle Tech on Public Roads

Jaguar Land Rover announced today that it will be testing autonomous and connected vehicle technologies on public roads in the U.K. In total, 41 miles of public roads around Coventry and Solihull will become a “living laboratory” where the automaker will test vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure systems. Around 100 connected and highly automated cars will be part of the test fleet along with five research vehicles from Jaguar Land Rover as part of the U.K. Connected Intelligence Transport Environment (UK-CITE) project. New roadside equipment will be installed along the routes for the duration of the three-year project.

The fleet of test vehicles will be testing communication technologies that will allow them to share information with other cars, and roadside infrastructures such as traffic lights. Sajid Javid MP, U.K. Secretary of State for Business, announced that U.K. government has supported the UK-CITE research with a grant for £3.41 million (roughly $4.9 million).

Jaguar Land Rover’s director of research and technology Dr. Wolfgang Epple said in a release: “The connected and autonomous vehicle features we will be testing will improve road safety, enhance the driving experience, reduce the potential for traffic jams and improve traffic flow. These technologies will also help us meet the increasing customer demand for connected services whilst on the move.”

Connected and autonomous driving technologies are also being developed to help traffic authorities monitor and manage traffic flow by getting data from all connected vehicles and then providing the driver of an autonomous car the guidance to make their trips quicker. Additionally, technologies such as cooperative adaptive cruise control would allow vehicles to autonomously follow each other in formation to make sure the space on the road is used more efficiently.

Jaguar Land Rover’s research team also hopes to test advanced warning messages that will allow drivers of connected cars and autonomous vehicles to get them before they even get close to the oncoming hazard. These would eventually replace the warning signs on the highways. Dr. Epple added that an “Over the Horizon” warning would help make drivers better informed and safer on the road by giving them advance notification of the hazard ahead. Additionally, the warning system would also allow connected and autonomous cars to pass the information on to emergency service vehicles such as ambulances, fire engines, and police cars.

Other automakers have begun testing autonomous driving technology on public roads. We reported earlier that Ford has begun testing autonomous driving cars in California as part of the California Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover

The post Jaguar Land Rover to Test Autonomous Vehicle Tech on Public Roads appeared first on Motor Trend.

from Motor Trend http://ift.tt/1UDLIzS