Jaguar Land Rover reveals 'Pothole alert' tech

Jaguar Land Rover's research boffins have been at it again, this time showcasing technology that could significantly reduce accidents and vehicle damage on the roads... and the resultant bills.

The 'Pothole Alert' system can analyse the severity and location of hazards such as potholes, broken manhole covers and drains and can adjust the MagneRide adaptive suspension system – as seen in Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport – to compensate.

Additionally JLR researchers are developing this technology to be able to share the hazard information in real time with other cars and road authorities via an internet cloud connection.

The benefits of this technology are myriad, from assisting councils in prioritising repairs to aiding the safety of other cloud-enabled road users.

"Our MagneRide-equipped vehicles feature sophisticated sensors that allow the vehicle to profile the road surface under the wheels and identify potholes, raised manholes and broken drain covers," explained Dr Mike Bell, Global Connected Car Director, Jaguar Land Rover.

"By monitoring the motion of the vehicle and changes in the height of the suspension, the car is able to continuously adjust the vehicle's suspension characteristics, giving passengers a more comfortable ride over uneven and damaged road surfaces."

"While this gives our customers a more comfortable ride, we think there is a huge opportunity to turn the information from these vehicle sensors into 'big data' and share it for the benefit of other road users," continued Bell.

JLR's Advanced Research Centre will install the surface sensing technology into a Range Rover Evoque research vehicle, which includes a forward-facing digital camera to seek out obstacles and therefore gain the most accurate data.

"Ultimately, sensing the road ahead and assessing hazards is a key building block on our journey to the autonomous car. In the future, we are looking to develop systems that could automatically guide a car around potholes without the car leaving its lane and causing a danger to other drivers. If the pothole hazard was significant enough, safety systems could slow or even stop the car to minimise the impact. This could all help make future autonomous driving a safe and enjoyable reality," said Bell.

JLR will work with the Coventry City Council in the United Kingdom to ensure they best understand how the road profile information gleaned could be shared with the appropriate authority to prioritise action. In terms of how the data would be delivered, JLR is investigating whether its experimental camera could be used to capture the hazard and provide an image, along with GPS location data, to the relevant body. The collaboration with Coventry council will commence later this year, according to Scrimshaw. There is no production time-line at this stage, of course.

It is estimated that repairs resulting from pothole damage in the UK equates to £2.8bn annually, or $5.6bn in Australian terms.

"This [technology] could help prevent billions of pounds of vehicle damage and make road repairs more effective," concluded Bell.