While highlighting the impact of the updates on the new Range Rover, Range Rover Sports, and Defender models, the corporation confirmed that they can also be deployed to previous vehicle generations – including those out of warranty. Here, more than 65,000 eligible vehicles from MY 2018 onwards have received security updates through their retailer, with the broader rollout carried out by JLR contacting clients directly and encouraging remaining owners to install these updates as soon as possible.

JLR’s investment includes updates to the Body Control Module (BCM) that prevents thieves driving away a vehicle without a key. While criminals had previously hacked the keyless entry system, enabling them to start the engine, JLR’s updates contain embedded technology to prevent this.

In addition to the updates, JLR advised customers to use every available measure to ensure their vehicles remain protected, including the ‘Remote’ smartphone apps for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands. The connected service apps offer security features such as vehicle lock reminders and a Guardian Mode that monitors the vehicle and provides an alert in the event of an unauthorized interaction.

The new hubs are situated in Munich, Germany; Bologna, Italy; and Madrid Spain – locations JLR chose based on their strong capacity for digital engineering skills. Upon launch, they will join hubs in locations across the U.S, Europe, China, and India. Together, these hubs will provide a variety of services and feed data to the OEM’s Advanced Product Creation Centre at its Gaydon headquarters in the UK.

While bolstering JLR’s autonomous driving operations, the announcement will also play a key role in its multi-year partnership with Nvidia – a technology company developing a variety of AI and computing solutions. Through the partnership, JLR’s engineers will develop and roll out new automated driving systems, digital services, and experiences for their clients globally.

The OEM confirmed that, from 2025, all new vehicles from the Jaguar and Land Rover brands will be built on the NVIDIA Drive Hyperion platform – which allows automakers to integrate and customize their own driving features. Adopting this platform will provide Jaguar Land Rover with a variety of active safety, automated driving, and parking systems as well as driver assistance systems. Inside the vehicle, NVIDIA Drive will provide new features based around AI – including driver and occupant monitoring systems alongside advanced visualization capabilities for the vehicle’s environment.

NVIDIA Drive Hyperion also leverages Drive Orin centralized AV computers, that will run the OEM’s Pivi Pro operating system, Drive AV and Drive IX software, a range of safety, security and networking systems, and surround sensors. These functions, together will be responsible for carrying out an array of autonomous functions in Jaguar Land Rover’s future vehicles. Likewise, Jaguar Land Rover’s software-defined features and end-to-end verification and validation architecture will allow for new automated driving features to be delivered through OTA software updates.

Jaguar Land Rover will also leverage NVIDIA DGX, an integrated deep learning workstation, to train AI models using NVIDIA’s Drive Simulation software. Built on NVIDIA’s Omniverse development platform, the software will allow the OEM to conduct 3D AI simulations in real-time to test its autonomous capabilities ahead of the 2025 rollout.

Ultimately, Jaguar Land Rover is seeking to enable L3 autonomy through the partnership. The OEM aims to allowing its NVIDIA-integrated vehicles to leverage their environmental detection capabilities to drive independently, while the driver remains alert and ready to take over.

In addition to providing new features and systems for its forthcoming vehicle line-up, Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that the partnership forms a key part of its Reimagine strategy.

Underpinning the vehicle’s technology suite is the newest version of Land Rover’s Pivi Pro infotainment system. In the New Range Rover, it is hosted on a 13.1-inch curved central display and a 13.7-inch Interactive Driver Display. The central display leverages haptic feedback to ensure the driver’s eyes remain on the road and supports wireless smartphone mirroring through Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Interactive Driver Display serves as a digital instrument cluster and can be customized through controls on the steering wheel.

In addition to these displays, the vehicle’s rear occupants can benefit from its Rear Seat Entertainment system. It sees a pair of 11.4-inch HD touchscreen displays mounted to the back of the front seats for second row passengers to interact with. Each display can be operated independently and can connect with many consumer devices through an HDMI port. Both can be controlled through a smartphone app and are capable of streaming entertainment content when connected to the vehicle’s Wi-Fi hotspot. The functionality of these displays can be enhanced through the optional Executive Class Rear Seats, which feature an 8.0-inch Rear Seat Touchscreen Controller that allow the user to adjust the seating position to their liking and control other in-cabin functions.

Further technology functions are enabled by EVA 2.0, Land Rover’s Electronic Vehicle Architecture system. These include software over-the-air updates for more than 70 electronic modules, wireless charging for Qi compatible smartphones, active noise cancellation, a Wi-Fi hotspot capable of connecting eight devices simultaneously, and a built-in Amazon Alexa voice assistant. The AI assistant, activated through the ‘Alexa’ voice command or a dedicated button on the central touchscreen, allows users to control infotainment features and some vehicle functionality. For example, users can control the vehicle’s navigation and hands-free calling systems and connect Alexa to both their smart home devices and other Alexa-enabled devices.

From early 2022, owners of the New Range Rover can benefit from its Remote Park Assist. Activated through Pivi Pro, it allows users to slowly maneuver the vehicle in and out of parking spaces through a smartphone app. Operating within a three-meter radius, the system leverages the SUV’s ultrasonic sensors and onboard cameras to monitor its surroundings for any potential hazards. While this system comes as standard, some ADAS including Adaptive Cruise Control with Steering Assist and Blind Spot Assist are available exclusively through the OEM’s premium Driver Assist Pack.

Land Rover is providing consumers with a variety of options when it comes to buying its new SUV. Among the models announced by the OEM are two extended range PHEVs, the P440e and P510e. Both vehicles combine a six-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine with a 38.2 kWh battery, and a 105 kW electric motor, to deliver an electric driving range of up to 62 miles (100 km). This amounts to a real-world driving range of up to 50 miles (82 km), which Land Rover says is sufficient for the majority of journeys taken by its customers today. Both PHEVs have a maximum speed of 87 mph (140 km/h) and adopt eHorizon navigation data to optimize energy usage.

MHEV and ICE versions of the New Range Rover are available to order now, while orders for the PHEV versions will open in early 2022. In addition to these models, Land Rover has confirmed that it will offer a BEV version of the SUV from 2024.

As part of the engineering project, Jaguar Land Rover has enlisted the help of a team of cognitive psychologists to better understand how vehicle behaviour affects human confidence in new technology. The trust trials form part of Jaguar Land Rover’s government-supported UK Autodrive project.

The intelligent pods run autonomously on a fabricated street scene in Coventry, while the behaviour of pedestrians is analysed as they wait to cross the road. The ‘eyes’ have been devised by a team of advanced engineers, working in Jaguar Land Rover’s Future Mobility division. The pods seek out the pedestrian – appearing to ‘look’ directly at them – signalling to road users that it has identified them, and intends to take avoiding action.

The trials are part of a wider study exploring how future connected and autonomous vehicles can replicate human behaviour and reactions when driving. As part of the study, more than 500 test subjects have been studied interacting with the self-driving pods, designed by UK Autodrive partner Aurrigo.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is testing a fleet of connected cars that can ‘talk’ to each other on UK roads. The tests on public roads are part of £7.1 million project aimed at creating the UK’s first fully connected infrastructure geared towards self-driving cars. More than 40 miles of the M40, M42, A45 and A46 will benefit from a world-first combination of wireless technologies (DSRC, 3/4G mobile networks, WiFi and fibre optic networks), ensuring vehicles can always be connected to each other and to infrastructure.

Jaguar Land Rover will be trialling 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).

UK CITE is just one of the connected and autonomous projects which is helping Jaguar Land Rover to offer customers an increased choice of features, while maintaining an enjoyable and safe driving experience. This project forms part of the company’s vision to leverage connectivity as a segue to making the self-driving car viable in the widest range of real-life, on- and off-road driving conditions.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is developing autonomous cars capable of all-terrain, off-road driving in any weather condition.

The world-first ‘CORTEX’ project will take self-driving cars off-road, ensuring they are fully capable in any weather condition: dirt, rain, ice, snow or fog. As part of the project, a ‘5D’ technique combining acoustic, video, radar, LiDAR, data live in real-time is being engineered. Access to this combined data improves the awareness of the environment the car is in. Machine-learning enables the self-driving car to behave in an increasingly sophisticated way, allowing it to handle any weather condition on any terrain.

Jaguar Land Rover is developing fully- and semi-automated vehicle technologies, offering customers a choice of the level of automation, while maintaining an enjoyable and safe driving experience. This project forms part of the company’s vision to make the self-driving car viable in the widest range of real-life, on- and off-road driving environments and weather.

CORTEX will develop the technology through algorithm development, sensor optimisation and physical testing on off-road tracks in the UK. The University of Birmingham, with its world leading research in radar and sensing for autonomous platforms and Myrtle AI, machine learning experts, join the project. CORTEX was announced as part of Innovate UK’s third round of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Funding in March 2018.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is leading AutopleX project to investigate pioneering safety improvements for self-driving technology.

AutopleX is a £4.7 million project to develop self-driving cars that can ‘see’ at blind junctions and through obstacles. AutopleX will combine connected, automated and live mapping tech so more information is provided earlier to the self-driving car. This enables automated cars to communicate with all road users and obstacles where there is no direct view, effectively helping them see, so they can safely merge lanes and negotiate complex roundabouts autonomously.

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 WMG at the University of Warwick join the AutopleX consortium, which was announced as part of Innovate UK’s third round of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Funding in March 2018.

Source: Ricardo

• Jaguar I-PACE will be the first premium self-driving electric vehicle in Waymo’s fleet
• First Waymo self-driving I-PACE will start tests in 2018, and become part of Waymo’s driverless fleet from 2020
• Up to 20,000 vehicles to join Waymo’s fleet in the first two years of production
• Jaguar Land Rover and Waymo to explore other future collaborations

Jaguar Land Rover and Waymo announce a long-term strategic partnership. Together, the two companies will develop self-driving electric vehicle for Waymo’s driverless transportation service.

Jaguar Land Rover and Waymo (formerly Google self-driving car project) will work together to design and engineer self-driving Jaguar I-PACE vehicles. This long-term strategic collaboration will further Waymo and Jaguar Land Rover’s shared goals: to make cars safer, free up people’s valuable time and improve mobility for everyone.

Waymo Jaguar I-PACEs, equipped with Waymo’s self-driving technology, will start testing later this year. On-road testing and capturing real-world data will allow Waymo and Jaguar Land Rover engineers to refine technology and deliver optimum safety and reliability. Up to 20,000 I-PACEs will be built in the first two years of production and be available for riders of Waymo’s driverless service, serving a potential one million trips per day.

Waymo apparently is the only company with a fleet of fully self-driving cars — with no one in the front seat — on public roads. Later this year Waymo will launch the world’s first self-driving transportation service allowing members of the public to use Waymo’s app to request a vehicle.

Source: JLR

Jaguar Land Rover’s self-driving cars can find spaces by themselves and park without any driver input.

The self-driving valet demonstration is a step towards making self-driving cars an everyday reality, with technology that removes stress from urban driving.

It took place on open public roads in Milton Keynes as part of Jaguar Land Rover’s work with UK Autodrive, a consortium testing self-driving vehicles and connected car technologies.

Jaguar Land Rover has also developed connected technology to help speed up the integration of automated driving features. The tech allows cars to ‘talk’ to each other and the surrounding environment, giving drivers the right information when they need it and helping the car react more quickly. The company has tested two features in Milton Keynes: Emergency Vehicle Warning and Electronic Emergency Brake Light.

Emergency Vehicle Warning (EVW) alerts drivers when an emergency vehicle is approaching and indicates which direction it is coming from. Electronic Emergency Brake Light (EEBL) gives a warning when another connected car brakes heavily – potentially giving drivers several additional seconds to avoid a possible collision.

Jaguar Land Rover is developing fully- and semi-automated vehicle technologies to offer 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.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover

Faced with a competitive market-place and rapidly-changing consumer preferences, more and more manufacturers are choosing to extend the lifetimes of their models, often introducing only minor facelifts along the way to boost sales. To allow consumer to make a fair comparison to new models, Euro NCAP has updated the ratings on several of recently facelifted cars. Apart from the Toyota Yaris, that could keep its five-star rating, most of these cars have dropped to three stars in this year’s safety tests. The list includes the Toyota Aygo (four stars with optional safety equipment), the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Ford’s C-MAX and Grand C-MAX, the Opel Karl and the DS 3. The most extreme example, however, is the Fiat Punto, which has been on sale since 2005 but is still a strong seller in Italy. The aging supermini is outclassed by every car tested in recent history and becomes Euro NCAP’s first car ever to be awarded zero stars.

Euro NCAP Secretary General, Michiel van Ratingen, said, “We have seen a lot of good cars in 2017, able to meet Euro NCAP’s 5-star requirements. Superminis like the new Polo, the Fiesta and the Ibiza now come with advanced safety technology as standard, offering the best in crash avoidance and crash protection. The fact that older cars cannot compete illustrates the pace at which the vehicle industry is innovating safety and the willingness and ability of competitive manufacturers to meet the highest standards. Those who do not keep their cars up to the latest standards get left behind, as these results clearly show.”

Euro NCAP’s rating scheme requires cars to score a minimum number of points in all four areas of assessment to qualify for even one star. In areas like adult and child occupant safety and pedestrian protection, the Punto still performs well enough to qualify for at least two stars. It is let down in driver assistance and crash avoidance, with only a seatbelt reminder system for the driver as standard, no points were scored in this part of the assessment.

Michiel van Ratingen, “This is perhaps the strongest example of a manufacturer continuing to sell a product that is well past its best-before date, at the expense of the unsuspecting car buyer. We would urge consumers to check our website for the latest ratings and to choose cars with the most up-to-date five-star ratings, many examples of which we have seen in 2017.”

Source: Euro NCAP

All cars achieve a maximum five-star rating except for the e-Mehari which is rated as three stars. As consumers have come to expect from these brands, the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X3 perform well all-round, the Jaguar E-Pace continues JLR’s strong run of five-star vehicles and Mercedes-Benz’s first pickup also hits the ground running with a maximum safety rating.

Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP, “Unsurprising as these results may be to some, these ratings continue to represent outstanding engineering achievements. This should not be taken for granted given the fact that Euro NCAP’s rating regime now includes over 15 different tests and hundreds of individual requirements, which are strengthened all the time. It is very positive that manufacturers still see a five-star rating as the target for most new vehicle models.”

Citroën’s quirky, beach-resort vehicle, the e-Mehari harks back to the Méhari which began production in the sixties. With standard airbags and seatbelt load-limiters and pre-tensioners, the e-Mehari offers satisfactory crash protection but its star rating is held back by a lack of driver assistance. PSA has not lost their mojo, however, as their DS7 Crossback debut confidently takes its spot among the top achievers this year.

Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP, “As we approach the end of the year, Euro NCAP is preparing for the new tests in 2018, in which auto brake systems that can detect and mitigate cyclists will be put to the test for the first time. These new tests and other planned updates will reflect the surge in automated vehicle functions that we expect to see on the market in the next years. Our mission is to help consumers understand how these systems operate, to show what they are capable of and to explain how one day these might save your life”.

Source: Euro NCAP

The UK’s largest trial of connected and autonomous vehicle technology has moved onto public roads, with the UK Autodrive project starting in-city trials on the streets of central Coventry.

Project partners Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) have begun to collaboratively trial a number of connected car features in the city, with Jaguar Land Rover and TMETC also separately trialling their autonomous vehicle research technologies.

The connected car trials are exploring the benefits of having cars that can “talk” to each other and their surroundings – with connected traffic lights, emergency vehicle warnings and emergency braking alerts among the technologies being trialled (see full list of UK Autodrive connected car use cases below).

The Jaguar Land Rover and TMETC autonomous vehicle research technology trials are being used to develop self-driving vehicle technology in a real-world setting, but with highly trained test operators supervising the cars at all times.

Further trials are scheduled to take place in Coventry and Milton Keynes early next year followed by a final series of open road demonstration events in both cities during the second half of 2018.

Major landmark

“The fundamental purpose of UK Autodrive is to get connected and autonomous vehicle technology out onto UK roads, so the start of trialling on the streets of Coventry is clearly a major landmark both for the project and for the UK as a whole,” said Tim Armitage, Arup’s UK Autodrive project director.

“Our previous private test track trials showed that the technology works but it is only on real roads that we will start to see the scale of the benefits that it can bring to the general public.”

Coventry City Councillor Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs and regeneration said, “I’m really pleased that the UK’s first collaborative on-road trialling of autonomous and connected vehicles is taking place in Coventry – the birthplace of the motor car.

“This new technology is moving rapidly and this is an important step and one we are all very excited about. Autonomous and connected cars will be a reality in the near future and I am confident they will help to boost safety, reduce congestion and improve air quality. Along with battery technology they will also help to create thousands of new jobs in the automotive sector and its supply chain.

“It’s right that Coventry is at the heart of all of this innovation, so we are pleased that these trials are happening here.”

As well as the on-road testing of connected and autonomous cars in Milton Keynes and Coventry, UK Autodrive is also trialling a fleet of up to 40 self-driving pavement-based ‘pod’ vehicles in Milton Keynes, with both types of vehicle due to take part in the project’s final technology demonstrations next year.

List of connected car features being trialled within the UK Autodrive programme:

Emergency Vehicle Warning (EVW) – Sends a signal directly from the emergency vehicle (e.g. ambulance, fire engine, police vehicle) to nearby connected cars. Driver is informed that the emergency vehicle is approaching and advised to make way for it.

Intersection Collision Warning (ICW) – Warns the driver when it is unsafe to enter an intersection, due to a high probability of collision with other vehicles.

In-Vehicle Signage (IVS) – Sends information about road conditions, congestion or other incidents directly to the in-car display, rather than having to rely on expensive gantry systems.

Electronic Emergency Brake Light (EEBL) – Alerts the driver when a vehicle in front suddenly brakes, providing advanced warning, especially when the driver is unable to see the lights of the braking vehicle due to weather conditions, road layout or other vehicles in between.

Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (GLOSA) – Sends traffic light information to the connected car which is able to calculate the optimal speed for approaching the lights, potentially minimising the number of red light stops, improving traffic flow and reducing emission levels from idling vehicles.

Intersection Priority Management (IPM) – Assigns priority when two or more connected vehicles come to an intersection without priority signs or traffic lights.

Collaborative Parking – Provides real-time information about free parking spaces either in the vicinity or close to the driver’s final destination.

Source: UK Autodrive

Osram matrix modules provide ADB functionality (Advanced Driving Beam), ensuring optimum night-time visibility even in extremely poor weather conditions. Continuous intelligent control of the light distribution on the road enables drivers to see hazards in good time without dazzling oncoming road users. The new long-life silicone lenses from Osram, headlight designers were able to make the lighting system extremely small and compact and continue the trend for narrow low-profile headlights.

Small dimensions and great performance

Although there are generally fewer vehicles on the roads at night there is a higher proportion of accidents than in daylight. Poor visibility is one of the major contributory factors. What’s more, many drivers are distracted by glare from oncoming headlights. Improving forward vehicle lighting is therefore the key to improving road safety between dusk and dawn. Glare-free high beam is achieved with a forward facing camera in the windshield linked to image processing software and smart lighting technology, automatically improving the distribution of light and ensuring that oncoming drivers are not dazzled. These automated LED matrix headlights save drivers the trouble of constantly switching between low beam and high beam and therefore make driving easier. Each Osram SMARTRIX module features ten Oslon Black Flat LEDs from Osram’s subsidiary Opto Semiconductors, with 20 pixels integrated per headlight. The LEDs offer high light output even at high currents, a uniform light pattern and thermal stability. For the first time the Osram modules are equipped with long-life silicone lenses, which guarantee optimum performance despite their very small size.

A new chapter in smart car lighting

The great benefit of the new SMARTRIX module is the long-life silicone lenses that enable the lighting system to be made particularly small and compact. This in turn gives automobile and headlight manufacturers enormous freedom to develop optics and opens up new headlight shapes. Designers can therefore implement innovative functions in the smallest of spaces and continue the trend for narrow low-profile headlights. First-generation SMARTRIX systems from Osram have now been integrated in the new Jaguar E-PACE.

Source: OSRAM

Range Rover is the latest brand to capitalise on increasing popularity of SUVs in Europe with the launch of the brand new Velar.

The SUV segment has continued to grow more than any other and sales of small SUVs are expected to reach two million in 2018. Fifteen popular SUVs, large and small, have already been tested by Euro NCAP since the start of 2016. These include sport utility vehicles by established players, such as the Jeep Compass and the Audi Q5, as well as new entrants like the Seat Ateca, Škoda Kodiaq and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

The Range Rover Velar is the latest car in the category tested by Euro NCAP and has achieved a five-star safety rating. In this increasingly crowded segment, the Velar becomes one of the best overall performers, with good results in all aspects of safety.

Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP, said, “Twenty years on from when Euro NCAP started, it’s encouraging to see a competitive safety environment still working. All of the SUVs we have tested in the last couple of years have had a five-star rating and the Velar is towards the top of the table in all areas of assessment. That’s great news for consumers, who are able to buy the kind of cars they like with the confidence that they offer high

Euro NCAP expects to publish the results of several more recently launched SUVs before the end of this year. Included in these will be the long awaited Jaguar F-Pace, with which the Velar shares much of its architecture.

Source: Euro NCAP

• • FUTURE-TYPE concept is Jaguar’s vision for an on-demand autonomous vehicle
  • Fully autonomous but driveable, too
  • In a future world of on demand and shared mobility, you may only fully own the steering wheel, not the car itself
  • Jaguar Land Rover explores the future with ‘Sayer’ – the connected, intelligent, steering wheel you can talk to
  • FUTURE-TYPE offers either autonomous or assisted driving because you may still want to enjoy the thrill of driving yourself.
  • Advanced technologies will make for safer driving with a human behind the wheel
  • To maximise the social opportunities offered by autonomous driving, FUTURE-TYPE features face-to-face ‘social’ seating

The Jaguar FUTURE-TYPE is a fully autonomous concept that imagines mobility in a world where Jaguar customers can summon a fully-charged FUTURE-TYPE on-demand. Offering a glimpse into the future, it is a car for a world of autonomous, connected, electric and shared mobility (ACES).

At the heart of the concept is the world’s first intelligent and connected steering wheel. This steering wheel lives at home and becomes owners’s trusted companion. Sayer – named after the designer of the E-type – is the first voice-activated Artificial Intelligence (AI) steering wheel that will be able to carry out hundreds of tasks. It can summon the car, play music, book a table and even knows what’s in the fridge. Sayer signals your membership of our on-demand service club. A club which offers either sole ownership or the option of sharing the car with others in your community, meaning that you need only fully own the steering wheel, not the car itself.

Sayer is the heart of an advanced HMI system that will keep the occupant connected to their world throughout the journey – or not, if they want to be alone and concentrate on the thrill of driving. Occupants can summon information from different orbits of their world and bring them to life through the system.

In the connected world of tomorrow, a fleet of fully-charged FUTURE-TYPEs could be available for customers on-demand. If they are taking their child to school, and only need two seats, they can summon a FUTURE-TYPE with 2+1 social seating, so they can chat face-to-face as the car autonomously drives to their destination using the most time and energy efficient route.

The FUTURE-TYPE will communicate with other cars and use co-operative driving technologies. This collaboration will enable shorter distances between vehicles and make lane changing and exiting from junctions safer and more efficient. This will also increase road capacity and prevent accidents, while the narrow width of FUTURE-TYPE will mean it takes up less space on the road and in car parks.

The driver could ask the FUTURE-TYPE to drive autonomously during the stressful and tedious parts of the journey, such as in heavy traffic or roadworks, or if they prefer to do some work or choose to watch a film. But for the occasions when a driver wants to enjoy the thrill of the open road, the concept retains a steering wheel.

This dual approach will allow drivers to choose either autonomous or assisted driving, with the assisted driver benefiting from the same advanced technologies that allow the FUTURE-TYPE to drive itself. These technologies will work in the background to make driving in the future safer and more enjoyable than ever, with the car always alert and aware of situations developing over the horizon.

Source: JLR

Sebastian Peck, InMotion Managing Director, said: “We are excited to collaborate with a leading platform like Lyft not only on developing premium mobility solutions but also devising innovative solutions to the transport problems Jaguar Land Rover’s customers face.

“Personal mobility and smart transportation is evolving and this new collaborative venture will provide a real-world platform helping us develop our connected and autonomous services.”

“We’re excited to join forces with Jaguar Land Rover and InMotion,” said John Zimmer, Lyft President and Co-founder. “Lyft envisions a future where shared mobility will transform cities and improve people’s lives. This partnership will help us achieve that ambitious goal.”

Hanno Kirner, Executive Director of Corporate and Strategy, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “This is a strategic investment for both parties as we focus on innovating new mobility solutions for our customers. Collaborating with an expanding technology business like Lyft is going to help us both accelerate our ambitions.”

InMotion’s latest investment follows its recent seed investment in SPLT, the Detroit-based digital carpool business, which works with Lyft to provide non-emergency medical transport.

The Lyft investment was included as part of the company’s most recent round of fundraising, which closed in April.

Source: InMotion

Jaguar Land Rover showcased its latest Connected and Autonomous Vehicle technologies as part of the UK Autodrive demonstrations taking place at HORIBA MIRA. In a UK first, Jaguar Land Rover is working with Ford and Tata Motors European Technical Centre to test connected technologies that will allow cars to talk to each other as well as the roadside infrastructure, such as traffic lights, in the future.

Connected and Autonomous Vehicle technologies are one of Jaguar Land Rover’s research priorities. It is creating a fleet of more than 100 research vehicles to develop and test a wide range of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle technologies over the next four years. Ultimately, these technologies will enhance the driving experience as well as making driving smarter, safer and even cleaner in the years to come.

Tony Harper, Head of Research, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “We know that there’s a huge potential for these technologies in future vehicles around the world. Until now we have focused on communication between Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, this collaborative approach is a major stepping stone towards all Connected and Autonomous Vehicles co-operating with each other in the future.

“Our aim is to give drivers exactly the right information at the right time and collaborations with other manufacturers are essential to help us deliver this commitment to our customers.”
Jaguar Land Rover is developing both fully and semi-autonomous vehicle technologies to help the driver with the challenging or more tedious parts of driving whilst maintaining an enjoyable driving experience. The company’s vision is to make the autonomous car viable in the widest range of real life, on and off road driving environments and weather conditions.

Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Technologies

With Advanced Highway Assist the vehicle can overtake vehicles automatically as well as stay in its lane on the motorway without the driver having to touch either the steering wheel or the pedals.

Electronic Emergency Brake Light Assist warns drivers when a vehicle ahead brakes severely or unexpectedly. This is particularly useful when driving in dense fog or if the vehicle in front is out of sight.

Imagine travelling across central London or Paris without needing to stop at traffic lights because they are always on green. This could be possible with Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory. The car connects to traffic lights advising the driver of the best driving speed required to reach the lights when they are on green. This will improve traffic flow, CO₂ emissions as well as the driver’s experience.

Source: Automotiveworld.com

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) believes the popular view of autonomous cars as ‘driverless’ is wrong.

The manufacturer’s group strategy director Adrian Hallmark, speaking at a new technology showcase, insists the driver will remain in ultimate control of JLR products.

He told Fleet News: “Autonomous technologies will instead work in the background to assist and enhance them.”

Cars will become safer not because they are driving themselves, but because the driver is supported by a plethora of unobtrusive new features.

“Technology will help improve traffic flow and air quality, reduce congestion and reduce the potential for accidents,” Hallmark added.

With fleet duty of care obligations in mind, this focus is already introducing safety-enhancing autonomous technologies to JLR products even before fully-autonomous technology and legislation is finalised.

New technologies such as Roadwork Assist – demonstrated to Fleet News in a Jaguar XE – uses the forward-facing stereo camera to gently and accurately guide the car through narrow roadworks.

It detects cones and barriers, centralising the vehicle between them.

The system is the first step in fully autonomous driving through roadworks, says JLR.

The stereo camera is also used for an Overhead Clearance Assist function, which measures clearances up ahead to determine if the car will fit. It can be programmed to account for bicycles and roof boxes.

Safe Pullaway helps prevent rear-end accidents at roundabout junctions by stopping cars driving into the vehicle in front (good if the driver is concentrating on looking for a gap rather than the car ahead).

A stereo camera is already standard on many JLR products: adding on this extra functionality is relatively easy.

Car-to-car communications are in development too, using a vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-vehicle communications technology called DSRC, or dedicated short-range communications, in combination with high-speed wireless technology.

JLR is partnering with Visteon, Siemens, Huawei, Vodafone, Highways England and others to carry out real-world trials on a 41-mile connected car route around Coventry and Warwickshire, beginning later this year.

Research will focus on how to make sure this technology is not confusing for the driver and build confidence in it. Drivers will only trust autonomous technology when it is able to operate just as they would.

JLR will also use the connected car corridor to demonstrate autonomous technology to legislators and other key stakeholders, such as fleet operators.

The company’s Over The Horizon Warnings could offer in-car alerts about hazards ahead (and even indicate if the car ahead is suddenly braking).

Such in-vehicle warnings could be connected to Highways England message boards, for instant alerts rather than waiting for cars to pass the boards.

Emergency vehicle warnings could be sent to cars, indicating the direction an emergency vehicle is coming from, plus how far away it is.

The next stage of car-to-car autonomous technology, called co-operative adaptive cruise control (C-ACC), increases the level of autonomous driving.

Today’s autonomous cruise control systems use radar, which can be slow. C-ACC enhances radar with a direct connection to the car in front; when they brake, the car behind immediately does the same, reducing following distance.

Ultimately, a number of cars could drive together in a close-packed, fully-connected autonomous platoon, improving fuel efficiency and reducing congestion.

JLR director of connected technologies and apps Peter Virk believes it could be possible to connect cars to traffic lights and other infrastructure, so inner-city drives can be timed so they don’t stop at red lights.

“In less than three years, I predict that every car sold in the world will be a connected car,” he said.

Source: Fleet News