Jaguar Land Rover to develop a smart city for autonomous vehicle testing

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is partnering with global software, mobility and telecommunication companies to create a smart city hub that will allow real-world testing of connected technology where self-driving vehicles share the streets with cars, pedestrians and cyclists.

The Future Mobility Campus Ireland (FMCI) will be a collaborative testbed spread across 12km of public roads, providing the facilities and expertise to harness valuable sensor data, simulate a variety of road environments and traffic scenarios and trial new technologies. As part of the trials, the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE will be deployed for testing.

The testbed will advance JLR's research into autonomous, connected, electrified and shared vehicles - a key part of the companys commitment to making societies safer and healthier with pioneering technology.

The real-world facility will be equipped with sensors throughout the site, along with high-accuracy location systems, a data management and control centre and self-driving prototype vehicles.

It will feature smart junctions, connected roads, autonomous parking and electric vehicle charging as well as links to a 450km stretch of connected highway and a managed air traffic corridor for unmanned aerial vehicles from Shannon airport along the Shannon Estuary in Ireland.

JLR is a lead partner of the FMCI and will collaborate with a host of other global technology companies to develop the facility, including Cisco, Seagate, Renovo, Red Hat, Valeo and Mergon. Traditionally such testing sites have been established overseas. The FMCI provides JLR with a key research site next to an existing facility, its Shannon software hub.