Jaguar has announced that over the next four years, it’ll role out a fleet of over 100 autonomous research vehicles across the United Kingdom.

The testing regime will commence later in the year when the first research cars begin testing on a 41 mile route in Coventry and Solihull along a number of motorways and smaller urban roads.

These cars will rely on vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications technology. This promises to allow the vehicles to not only talk to each other but to also detect and comprehend road signs and traffic lights. This information will then be shared across all the connected autonomous cars to make driving safer.

Another key piece of tech to be used across the fleet is Roadwork Assist which uses forward-facing cameras to generate a view of the road ahead while also detecting any possible cones and barriers on the road. It will work in conjunction with the Over the Horizon Warning system which will allow a car ahead to tell a car ahead about any upcoming dangers on the road.

Discussing the technology, head of research of Jaguar Land Rover Tony Harper said “Our connected and automated technology could help improve traffic flow, cut congestion and reduce the potential for accidents. We will also improve the driving experience, with drivers able to choose how much support and assistance they need. In traffic, for example, the driver could choose autonomy assist during tedious or stressful parts of the journey.”

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