Two UK road authorities and Jaguar Land Rover are contributing to a global research project intended to develop a system that could enable autonomous vehicles to spot potholes.
Using a platform created by connected tech and transport analytics firm Inrix, JLR, Transport Scotland and Transport for West Midlands will contribute to the development of the AV Road Rules system, which digitalises street signs and road rules so that autonomous vehicles can understand them.
The platform also provides autonomous vehicles with a link to local road authorities, which can provide information about potholes or road damage, so that repairs and maintenance can be rolled out more quickly and effectively.
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JLR’s connected and autonomous vehicle research senior manager, Chris Holmes, said: “Road conditions and layouts can vary drastically over a matter of miles and so it is vital that self-driving is facilitated collaboratively. Local traffic authorities play a significant role in this.
“Inrix AV Road Rules provides improved information to the car, ensuring our self-driving technology is the most safe, sophisticated and capable to deal with challenging real-world environments as we enter new markets across the globe."
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Companies and organisations of various sizes from across Europe, the US and Asia are also contributing to Washington-based Inrix’s platform. They include seven cities, with Boston and Las Vegas among the largest.
Although the UK is striving to become a world leader in autonomous vehicle development, with the UK Government having announced legislation that will allow driverless cars on to roads by 2021, the British road network is considered particularly challenging for developers as a result of its large variety of road scenarios and surfaces.
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