JLR self-driving tech develops red-light solution
BY ROBBIE WALLIS | 15th Nov 2018
JAGUAR Land Rover (JLR) has taken the latest step in its ongoing self-driving technology trial, with the car-maker developing vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) technology that allows the car to predict and avoid red lights.
Named the Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (GLOSA) system, it allows the vehicle to communicate with traffic lights, informing them of the optimal speed to travel leading up to a junction in order to avoid being stuck at a red light.
The purpose is to help avoid hard accelerating and braking around intersections which will reduce vehicle emissions, and will help improve the flow of traffic at junctions.
A Jaguar F-Pace SUV is being used to conduct the trials, which already features semi-autonomous technology and has been enhanced by increasing the line of sight of a vehicle by communicating with other vehicles and infrastructure.
JLR's trial is part of the £20 million (A$35.76m) government-funded UK Autodrive self-driving and autonomous technology research project, which has developed a number of new autonomous functions since being put into place in 2015.
Other technologies developed during the trial include intersection collision warning, which alerts drivers when it is unsafe to enter an intersection; real-time V2X information alerting drivers of available parking spaces near their destination; and emergency vehicle warning, which alerts drivers when emergency vehicles are approaching.
In August JLR developed a self-driving pod with 'virtual eyes' to help promote trust between human pedestrians and autonomous machines, and to acknowledge the pod is aware of the pedestrian's presence.
It has also conducted level four autonomous trials on British roads, where the vehicle is capable of completing driving tasks in towns and cities without any driver intervention.
Other manufacturers including Autodrive partner Ford have previously announced trials of the technology, performed at its Mcity test track at the University of Michigan.
Jaguar Land Rover connected technology research engineer Oriol Quintana-Morales said the technology will greatly help the impact of increasing traffic congestion in cities.
“This cutting-edge technology will radically reduce the time we waste at traffic lights,” he said.
“It has the potential to revolutionise driving by creating safe, free-flowing cities that take the stress out of commuting. Our research is motivated by the chance to make future journeys as comfortable and stress-free as possible for all our customers.”
The three-year UK Autodrive trial officially wrapped up in October.
