Potholes could be history, thanks to vehicles of the future

Jaguar Land Rover has joined forces with two British road authorities for a global research project that could see autonomous vehicles detecting and reporting potholes.

The manufacturer, Transport for West Midlands and Transport Scotland will start adding data to a system created by American technology company Inrix as part of its ‘AV Road Rules’ project.

The aim is to digitise street signs and lines to help autonomous vehicles better understand and react to them.

Chris Holmes, connected and autonomous vehicles research senior manager at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Self-driving vehicles are stimulating conversations globally, but they are in fact a very local challenge. Road conditions and layouts can vary drastically over a matter of miles, so it’s vital that self-driving is facilitated collaboratively.

“Local traffic authorities play a significant role in this. Inrix’s AV Road Rules provides improved information to the car, ensuring our self-driving technology is the most safe, sophisticated and capable to deal with challenging real-world environments as we enter new markets across the globe.”

As well as allowing autonomous vehicles to read road signs and markings, the system will enable vehicles to link up with local road authorities and provide them with status reports of the road they’re travelling on. For instance, an autonomous car would be able to flag up a pothole or other damage to the road surface.

This would allow for quicker repairs and more effective treatment of potholes across the road network.

The UK’s involvement in the project comes alongside that of several large American cities, including Boston and Las Vegas. All are contributing towards a better mapping of roads across the world, making them better suited for potential use by autonomous vehicles.