Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s biggest carmaker, is working on connected technology as part of its “pledge to deliver zero accidents, zero congestion and zero emissions.” It is now road-testing, a slew of Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2X) technologies to connect cars to traffic lights systems so drivers can avoid getting stuck at red and help free up traffic flow in cities; technologies such as the Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (GLOSA), Intersection Priority Management (IPM) and Intersection Collision Warning (ICW) among others.
The widespread adoption of the V2X technology is expected to prevent drivers from racing to beat the lights while improving air quality by reducing harsh acceleration or braking near lights, thus creating free-flowing cities with fewer delays, reducing emission levels from idling vehicles and less commuter stress overall. Connected technology’s eventual aim is to link the vehicle to everything around it, allowing seamless, free-flowing traffic that will pave the way for delivering self-driving vehicles.
“This cutting-edge technology will radically reduce the time we waste at traffic lights. 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.” – Oriol Quintana-Morales, Jaguar Land Rover Connected Technology Research Engineer
The world’s first traffic lights were installed 150 years ago outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Since then drivers around the world have spent countless hours waiting for the green light. Today, it is estimated that an average city driver spends about one-fifth of his or her time idling in a traffic light.
JLR’s primary V2X technology, dubbed the Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (GLOSA) system, sends traffic light information to the connected car, which will then be able to calculate the optimal speed for approaching the lights. The aim is to minimise the number of red light stops a vehicle endures during a journey.
GLOSA is being tested alongside a host of other measures such as the Intersection Priority Management (IPM), which assigns priority when two or more connected vehicles come to an intersection without priority signs or traffic lights. The Intersection Collision Warning (ICW) is another related system that alerts drivers when it is unsafe to proceed at a junction, informs drivers if other cars are approaching from another road and can suggest the order in which cars should proceed at a junction.
JLR’s V2X technologies are currently being road-tested on a Jaguar F-PACE, as part of a £20 million government-funded collaborative research project called UK Autodrive. The project has helped accelerate the development of JLR’s future self-driving and connected technology. These V2X technology trials are enhancing existing ADAS features, such as Adaptive Cruise Control, by increasing the line of sight of a vehicle when it is connected via the internet to other vehicles and infrastructure.
Other related systems being worked on includes the Collaborative Parking which provides real-time information about free parking spaces either in the vicinity or close to the driver’s final destination, thus reducing the time lost to searching for a parking space. Another is the Emergency Vehicle Warning (EVW) which sends a signal directly from the emergency vehicle to nearby connected cars to advise them to make way.
This year JLR is projected to spend in the region of £4 billion on new product creation and capital expenditure. By 2020 JLR will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across its model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles as well as continuing to offer the latest diesel and petrol engines. Although no official word has been given, it is likely that quite a few of the VX2 technologies being tested now may have been implemented by then.
