POTHOLES present a serious safety risk to motorists. Now, imagine if your vehicle could warn you of an approaching pothole or sunken manhole cover and predict the severity of the obstacle in time for you to take avoidance action. This is what Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) aims to achieve with its latest project at the JLR Advanced Research Centre in the UK.
The first step is to employ the current suspension sensors fitted to JLR vehicles to detect and measure road imperfections. Dr Mike Bell, Global Connected Car director, says: “Our MagneRide-equipped Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport feature sophisticated sensors that allow the vehicles to profile the road surface under the wheels and identify potholes, raised manholes and broken drain covers.”
This data, as well as the GPS location, is then uploaded to the cloud. Other connected vehicles can access the data from the cloud and warn its driver in advance of approaching obstacles. The camera mounted in the windscreen of the vehicles takes a picture of the pothole, which is sent, together with the GPS location, to the relevant road authority for
its attention.
The next step will be to equip all vehicles with an advanced forward-facing, stereoscopic digital camera that’s able to scan the road surface ahead and detect potholes. It then warns the driver to take evasive action and the suspension settings are altered to lessen the impact
on the vehicle and its occupants