AUTONOMOUS RANGE ROVER SPORT RUNS RINGS ROUND COVENTRY

Range Rover Sport completes the first ever self-driving lap on one of the most challenging roads in the UK, Coventry Ring Road.

A prototype self-driving Range Rover Sport handled the complex Coventry Ring Road, successfully changing lanes, merging with traffic and exiting junctions at the speed limit of 40mph.

Before heading onto public roads, Jaguar Land Rover engineers have completed significant self-driving technology testing on closed tracks.

Coupled with the UK Autodrive research, the vehicle can autonomously handle pedestrians, cyclists, parking, roundabouts, traffic lights and other vehicles on challenging roads. It has been modified to include additional navigation sensors, RADAR and LIDAR. RADAR is an object-detection system that uses radio waves to determine the range, angle, or velocity of objects. LIDAR is a surveying method that measures distance to a target by illuminating the target with pulsed laser light and measuring the reflected pulses with a sensor. Differences in laser return times and wavelengths can then be used to make digital 3-D representations of the target and therefore build high-resolution maps of the surroundings.

Mark Cund, Jaguar Land Rover autonomous vehicle research manager, said, ‘The Coventry Ring Road is known for its complicated slip roads and exits. It makes for very challenging conditions, especially when under pressure in the rush hour.’

‘Our self-driving car is not impacted by the same pressure, frustrations or fatigue that a driver may experience and so it’s capable of turning a potentially very stressful situation into a completely stress-free one.’