Currently reading: Pothole detection system showcased by Jaguar Land Rover
The technology will identify the location and severity of potholes; a self-learning car tech is also being developed

Technology that will identify the locations of potholes, broken drains and manhole covers in the road, and share them with other vehicles and road authorities, is being developed by Jaguar Land Rover

It is hoped Pothole Alert will be developed to the point that it can automatically adjust a car's suspension to reduce the impact of known road imperfections.

Mike Bell, global connected car director at JLR, said: "By monitoring the motion of the vehicle, and changes in the height of the suspension, the car is able to continuously adjust the vehicle’s suspension characteristics, giving passengers a more comfortable ride over uneven and damaged road surfaces.

“While this gives our customers a more comfortable ride, we think there is a huge opportunity to turn the information from these vehicle sensors into ‘big data’ and share it for the benefit of other road users.

"This could help prevent billions of pounds of vehicle damage, and make road repairs more effective.” 

JLR will be working with Coventry City Council to research how best to share the information with road authorities.

The company is also developing a 'self-learning' car that monitors, and then predicts, the driver's preferred media sources and regular telephone calls.

The technology uses a new learning algorithm that recognises who is in the car from their phone or key fob, and then learns their preferences.

The calendar, time of day, traffic conditions and weather all enable the technology to predict the driver's behaviour. It takes two weeks for the algorithm to make its first predictions.

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DBtechnician 18 June 2015

Wonderful,,,,

GCHQ will be really pleased with this onboard, not only can they detect where the car is at any one time, but recognise who is driving the car. My question is will speed cameras be a thing of the past with cars reporting back to authorities exactly where you are and who is driving, it doesn't take too much of a stretch of imagination for your speeding fines or traffic infringements to be billed to you next time you fill up or maybe automatically from your phone. Will we see a day when your car delivers you to the police station on account of an outstanding warrant on the authorities system, or if your on a list in Washington DC a cruse missile deploys to your location in the middle east ?
G.O.M. 18 June 2015

Pothole Detection

This is nothing new, I had a Jaguar Mk I 2.4 with pothole detection. Every time I encountered a pothole it would cleverly transmit a vibration through the steering wheel.
rogerhudson 17 June 2015

pothole detection

So if you see a car jerking all over the road and jumping up and down as ir's suspension re-sets you will know it is 'intelligent', i don't think so.