Jaguar Land Rover showcased connected technologies that will allow cars to talk to each other as well as the roadside infrastructure, such as traffic lights, in the future. The tech was shown UK Autodrive at HORIBA MIRA. In a UK first, Jaguar Land Rover is working with Ford and Tata Motors European Technical Centre.
The first demonstration showcased cars that can warn their drivers when another connected car up ahead has braked severely, lowering the risk of rear-end collisions when the driver’s view is obscured, for example, by fog or other vehicles. This feature is being call Electronic Emergency Brake Light Assist.
The second demonstration showed how connected cars can be sent information from traffic lights, allowing them to reduce the likelihood of meeting red lights – potentially improving future traffic flow and lowering emissions in urban areas.
Jaguar Land Rover demonstratd a self-driving Range Rover Sport that was able to overtake slower moving vehicles automatically – and also reject overtake requests if it detects another vehicle in the occupant’s “blind spot”.
With Advanced Highway Assist the vehicle can overtake vehicles automatically as well as stay in its lane on the motorway without the driver having to touch either the steering wheel or the pedals.
Imagine travelling across central London or Paris without needing to stop at traffic lights because they are always on green. This could be possible with Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory. The car connects to traffic lights advising the driver of the best driving speed required to reach the lights when they are on green. This will improve traffic flow, CO₂ emissions as well as the driver’s experience.
Jaguar Land Rover’s research priorities is creating a fleet of more than 100 research vehicles to develop and test a wide range of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies over the next four years. Ultimately, these technologies will enhance the driving experience as well as making driving smarter, safer and even cleaner in the years to come.
Jaguar Land Rover is developing both fully and semi-autonomous vehicle technologies to help the driver with the challenging or more tedious parts of driving whilst maintaining an enjoyable driving experience. The company’s vision is to make the autonomous car viable in the widest range of real life, on and off road driving environments and weather conditions.
UK Autodrive is a consortium of leading technology and automotive businesses, local authorities and academic institutions working together on a three year UK trial of self-driving vehicle and connected car technologies. It is helping to establish the UK as a global hub for the research, development and integration of automated and connected vehicles into society. It will also investigate other aspects of automated driving, including safety and cyber-security issues as well as the public’s acceptance for connected and autonomous vehicles.