Jaguar Land Rover recently opened a new software, IT and engineering center in Manchester to support its connected technologies strategy
Jaguar Land Rover announced that it is currently testing a fleet of connected cars on U.K. roads.
Road infrastructure and vehicles, including Discovery Sports, Range Rovers and F-PACEs, have been equipped with a combination of wireless technologies
The car manufacturer said that the research fleet of connected cars communicate to each other and the surroundings to improve safety, avoid accidents and prepare for self-driving.
The tests on public roads are part of a £7.1 million ($9.3 million) project aimed at creating the U.K.’s first fully connected infrastructure geared towards self-driving cars. More than 40 miles of the M40, M42, A45 and A46 routes will benefit from a combination of wireless technologies (DSRC, 3G/4G mobile networks, Wi-Fi and fiber optic networks), ensuring vehicles can always be connected to each other and to infrastructure.
“Connecting cars to each other and their surroundings (known as V2X) is a vital step for safe, large-scale deployment of self-driving cars. The latest connected technology complements other vehicle sensors and extends a vehicle’s ability to ‘see’ further down the road and ‘speak’ to other vehicles, infrastructure, pedestrians and the network,” Jaguar Land Rover said in a release. “For instance, warning that a car too far ahead to see has applied its brakes allows a following driver to avoid a potential accident. The system will work on both manual and autonomous driving and so will greatly improving road safety across levels of autonomy.”
Jaguar Land Rover will be testing a range of intelligent connected features such as emergency electronic brake light warning (EEBL), emergency vehicle warning (EVW), and in-vehicle signage (IVS) for roadworks warning (RWW) and traffic condition warning (TCW).
Last week, Jaguar Land Rover announced plans to open a new software, IT and engineering center in Manchester to support its strategy to introduce connected technologies in future vehicles.
“As the automotive industry continues to embrace autonomous, connected and electrified technologies, Jaguar Land Rover remains committed to engineering innovative software that will make our customers’ lives better, by creating premium in-car experiences that they love,” said Nick Rogers, executive director of product engineering at Jaguar Land Rover. “With the Manchester team supporting the creation of connected car technology, the new centre is a fantastic opportunity for us to keep pushing the boundaries towards seamless connectivity, with disruptive technical solutions.”
The company said it is looking for a small team of IT specialists, software engineers and developers to help create the next generation of vehicle software in the new Manchester facility.
