Jaguar Land Rover has announced an autonomous fleet of more than 100 cars to be tested over the next four years to develop Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV). The brand will start the ambitious project with a batch of cars that will be tested on a 41 mile route between Coventry and Solihull later this year.
The tests will help to develop and test technology that will enable the vehicles to not only read roadsigns and potential dangers, but also to communicate with other autonomous cars. Jaguar Land Rover believe connected cars will be able to co-operate with each other to provide a safe and easier driving environment.
Roadwork Assist uses a forward facing camera to get a 3D view of what is coming ahead and will be able to recognise a hazard before the driver even sees it. The system is able recognise roadworks and is able to make small steering adjustments if the road narrows due to a contraflow. The driver will also be notified to make them aware of what is coming ahead in case action is needed.
Safe Pullaway is another technology being tested and developed as part of Jaguar Land Rover's testing - it uses the same front facing camera and will break the car automatically if it detects a hazard. This is not exactly groundbreaking as many cars feature Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) but it's nice to know it's there if you should happen to need it.
To help cars communicate with each other, Jaguar Land Rover is also testing a technology called 'Over the Horizon Warning' which uses radio signals to send relevant data from vehicle to vehicle. For example if an autonomous car were to break down and pose a risk to other motorists it would send a 'Hazard Ahead' warning message to other road users.
The communication doesn't stop there though, Emergency Vehicle Warning will allow emergency vehicles to communicate with other road users so they will know they are coming before they are even seen or heard. Drivers would get an audible warning as well as visual alert stating how far aware the emergency vehicle and what direction it's coming from. Pretty handy as I often find it difficult to gauge which direction an emergency vehicle is coming from...
