JLR announces first UK road tests of driverless car technology

Jaguar Land Rover is investing £5.5m in a project aimed at testing connected and autonomous vehicle technologies on UK roads.

Through the UK-CITE (UK Connected Intelligent Transport Environment) initiative, the company plans to create a 41-mile “living laboratory” on roads around Coventry and Solihull.

New roadside communications equipment will be installed along the route during the three-year project to enable the testing of a fleet of up to 100 connected and highly automated cars, including five Jaguar Land Rover research vehicles.

This fleet will test a range of different communication technologies that could share information at very high speeds between cars, and between cars and roadside infrastructure, including traffic lights and overhead gantries.

Connected technologies are seen as key enablers for future Intelligent Transport System that could be used to help monitor and manage traffic flow, and improve road safety.

Technologies that will be trialled through the project include Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) systems that enable vehicles to autonomously follow each other in close formation and so-called “Over the horizon” warning systems that inform vehicles directly about hazards and road conditions further ahead.