Consortium unveils car technology at JLR

Technology allowing cars to talk to each other and to the road have been unveiled by a Midlands-based project at Jaguar Land Rover’s Warwickshire site.

The UK Connected Intelligence Transport Environment (UK CITE) consortium, which includes Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and JLR, was created to test how connected and autonomous vehicles can interact with communications infrastructure.

The consortium demonstrated its technology that gives drivers warnings on road conditions, such as alerts that the car in front has applied its brakes, with the aim of avoiding potential accidents.

The demonstration was attended by UK CITE partners including automotive industry representatives, technology and infrastructure developers and operators and academics.

Mike Waters, director of policy, strategy and innovation at TfWM, said: “The consortium is using a globally unique combination of wireless technologies that enables us to carry out real-world testing in a safe and managed way.

 “This sort of world leading research and development is yet another example of how the West Midlands is increasingly home to the industries of tomorrow, helping to grow our regional economy and create jobs for the 21st century.”

Claire Lewis, senior business development manager at lead consortium partner, Visteon – responsible for the technical architecture of the project, including car hardware and software and a smartphone app – said, “These technologies are set to have a wide societal and infrastructural impact.

“With advanced warnings of emergency vehicles on the road we will see response times improve, as traffic proactively responds to their presence.

“In the same vein, a more informed understanding of road conditions will allow traffic pressures to ease on the road.”

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