Jaguar Land Rover knows when traffic lights will change

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has previewed new technology that communicates with a city's infrastructure to keep traffic moving freely.

Created in association with the British government's UK Autodrive initiative, the new JLR tech, called the Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory system (GLOSA), actively 'talks' to approaching traffic lights and then adjusts the speed of the Jaguar or Land Rover approaching.

Tested on a heavily modified Jaguar F-PACE SUV, the function ensures less time is spent wasted at a standstill at lights.

JLR says if all vehicles harnessed similar tech and deployed it in cities there would be safer, freer flowing traffic in urban areas and, with less heavy braking, lower real-world emissions.

Said to have taken around three years to develop, JLR also used its special F-PACE to preview a whole host of new tech that's coming to Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in the coming years.

The first is an Intersection Collision Warning alert that highlights potential dangers at junctions. Combined with an Intersection Priority Management -- which helps multiple vehicles determine who has the right of way -- and it seems in the future the driver won't have to think who has right of way, leading to quicker more accurate decision making.

Addressing hapless motorists holding up the police, fire service or ambulances when responding to an emergency call, JLR engineers have developed an Emergency Vehicle Warning system that warns the driver if a blue light vehicle is approaching.

Finding a car park in the city will be easier in the future too, thanks to JLR's Collaborative Parking system that communicates with infrastructure like parking meters to find a free space.

Boosting safety, in the future car-to-car communication will know if a vehicle several cars ahead is emergency braking, applying your brakes before you react.

So effective is the new tech that JLR even envisages a future when there's no need for physical signage on the road.

That's because an on-board virtual In-Vehicle Signage will broadcast current road conditions, weather or road works warnings direct to the driver.

Jaguar Land Rover has not announced when exactly the new tech, but similar tech developed by Audi is already being introduced in selected cities in the US.