(c)iStock.com/Alicia_Garcia

Jaguar Land Rover has announced it is creating a fleet of more than 100 research vehicles to develop and test a wide range of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies over the next four years.

The company is working in collaboration with Ford and Tata Motors European Technical Centre to allow cars to talk to each other as well as the roadside infrastructure in the future.

Some of the technologies that are being tested are the Advanced Highway Assist, Electronic Emergency Brake Light Assist and Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory.

The Advanced Highway Assist technology allows a vehicle to overtake vehicles automatically as well as stay in its lane without the driver having to touch either the steering wheel or the pedals. The Electronic Emergency Brake Light Assist helps drivers by warning them when a vehicle ahead brakes severely or unexpectedly, which is mostly useful when weather is foggy or if the vehicle in front is out of sight, while the Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory allows a car to connect to traffic lights advising the driver of the best driving speed required to reach the lights when they are on green, which also improves traffic flow, carbon emissions as well as the driver’s experience.

Tony Harper, head of research at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “We know that there’s a huge potential for these technologies in future vehicles around the world. Until now we have focused on communication between Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, this collaborative approach is a major stepping stone towards all connected and autonomous vehicles co-operating with each other in the future.

“Our aim is to give drivers exactly the right information at the right time and collaborations with other manufacturers are essential to help us deliver this commitment to our customers,” Harper added.