- The £4.7 million project will develop vehicles that can ‘see’ around corners and through obstacles, improving the capability of self-driving cars
- Jaguar Land Rover is leading AutopleX project to investigate pioneering safety improvements for self-driving technology
- The project is combining connected, automated and live mapping tech to allow self-driving cars to ‘see’ and ‘talk’ to each other
- Jaguar Land Rover is joined by Highways England, INRIX, Ricardo, Siemens, Transport for West Midlands and Warwick University in the Innovate UK funded project
Coventry, UK, 20 April 2018 – Jaguar Land Rover is leading AutopleX, a £4.67 million project to develop groundbreaking technology for self-driving vehicles. Over the next two and a half years the team will develop automated cars with the ability to ‘see’ around blind junctions and through obstacles in order to ‘talk’ to other vehicles, allowing it to safely handle highly complex traffic scenarios.
Jaguar Land Rover is making substantial steps towards automated features and connectivity. AutopleX goes one step further by combining connected, automated and live mapping tech so more information is provided earlier to the self-driving car. This information enables automated cars to ‘see’ and ‘talk’ to all road users and obstacles where there is no direct view, so they can safely merge lanes and negotiate complex roundabouts autonomously.
Chris Holmes, Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Research Manager at Jaguar Land Rover said: “This project is a crucial step in bringing self-driving cars to our customers in the near future. Together with our AutopleX partners, we will merge our connected and autonomous research to empower our self-driving vehicles to operate safely in the most challenging, real-world traffic situations. This project will ensure that we will deliver the most sophisticated and capable automated driving technology.”
Jaguar Land Rover is developing fully- and semi-automated vehicle technologies, offering customers a choice of an engaged or automated drive, while maintaining an enjoyable and safe driving experience. The company’s vision is to make the self-driving car viable in the widest range of real-life, on- and off-road driving environments and weather.
AutopleX will develop the technology through simulation and public road testing both on motorways and in urban environments in the West Midlands. Highways England, INRIX, Ricardo, Siemens, Transport for West Midlands and Warwick University join the AutopleX consortium, which was announced as part of Innovate UK’s third round of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Funding in March 2018.
###
About Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover is the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer, built around two iconic British car brands: Land Rover, the world’s leading manufacturer of premium all-wheel-drive vehicles; and Jaguar, one of the world’s premier luxury sports saloon and sports car marques.
We employ more than 43,000 people globally and support around 240,000 more through our dealerships, suppliers and local businesses. Manufacturing is centred in the UK, with additional plants in China, Brazil, Austria and Slovakia.
At Jaguar Land Rover, we are driven by a desire to deliver class-leading vehicles, which will provide experiences our customers will love, for life. Our products are in demand around the globe. In 2017 Jaguar Land Rover sold 621,109 vehicles in 130 countries, with more than 80 per cent of our vehicles being sold abroad.
Our innovation is continuous: we will spend more than £4 billion in the coming year on new product creation and capital expenditure.
From 2020 all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will be electrified, giving our customers even more choice. We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles as well as continuing to offer ultra-clean petrol and diesel engines.
About AutopleX
AutopleX is a consortium launched in March 2018 to support the introduction of self-driving vehicles into the UK. UK AutopleX brings together leading technology and automotive businesses, forward-thinking local authorities and academic institutions to deliver a major UK trial of autonomous and connected vehicle technologies taking place in the Midlands and Coventry City Centre. AutopleX is jointly funded by government and industry. The competition was delivered by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.
