Jaguar Land Rover and INRIX awarded grant to increase Autonomous Vehicle safety
INRIX, the world leader in connected car services and transportation analytics, and the AutopleX consortium, led by Jaguar Land Rover, have announced that the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles has awarded £4.7 million to significantly enhance autonomous vehicle (AV) capabilities in difficult traffic situations.
AVs have potential to dramatically improve safety, decrease congestion and reduce emissions on UK roads. AutopleX is the first project that brings together private sector, public sector and academic stakeholders, and multiple data sources to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing successful AV deployment: navigating complex road patterns and traffic conditions.
The AutopleX project will advance the capability of AV technologies beyond current SAE level 2 and 3 capabilities by combining three distinct data sources – on-vehicle sensors, information from/to infrastructure and real-time local dynamic mapping – to improve perception of a vehicle navigating complex junctions. AutopleX consortium members include Jaguar Land Rover, INRIX, Highways England, Ricardo, Siemens, Transport for West Midlands and University of Warwick.
“INRIX will provide road hazards, traffic speeds and restrictions that will be used to improve the safety and effectiveness of the vehicle executing complex manoeuvres, including navigation of roundabouts and merging into traffic,” said Avery Ash, autonomous vehicle lead at INRIX. “The ability for AVs to identify upcoming route and roadway conditions based on real-time data will significantly improve their overall driving performance.”
AutopleX will develop fully- and semi-automated vehicle technologies through simulation and public road testing both on motorways and in urban environments in the West Midlands.
