The Inrix and Jaguar Land Rover-led AutopleX consortium has received new funding from the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles in the UK to advance autonomous vehicle (AV) development.

The new £4.7m funding will be utilised to improve AV capabilities under difficult traffic situations.

Launched in March this year, AutopleX will help in the introduction of autonomous vehicles into the UK.

In addition to Jaguar Land Rover and Inrix, the consortium includes Highways England, Ricardo, Siemens, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and the University of Warwick.

Involving private sector, public sector and academic stakeholders, the AutopleX project addresses the challenge of deploying AV to navigate through complicated road patterns and other traffic conditions.

Jaguar Land Rover Connected and Autonomous Vehicle research manager Chris Holmes said: “Together with our AutopleX partners, we will merge our connected and autonomous research to empower our self-driving vehicles to operate safely in the most challenging, real-world traffic situations.

“This project will ensure we deliver the most sophisticated and capable automated driving technology.”

“This project will ensure we deliver the most sophisticated and capable automated driving technology.”

The project aims to advance AV technologies beyond current SAE level 2 and 3 capabilities by integrating three distinct data sources – on-vehicle sensors, information from/to infrastructure and real-time local dynamic mapping.

The combination is expected to enhance perception of the AV vehicle in navigating complex junctions.

Inrix autonomous vehicle lead Avery Ash said: “Inrix will provide road hazards, traffic speeds and restrictions that will be used to improve the safety and effectiveness of the vehicle executing complex manoeuvres, including navigation of roundabouts and merging into traffic.

“The ability for AVs to identify upcoming route and roadway conditions based on real-time data will significantly improve their overall driving performance.”

The development of fully and semi-automated vehicle technologies will be carried out by simulation and public road testing on motorways and in urban environments within the West Midlands.