Jaguar Land Rover is partnering with global software, mobility and telecoms companies to create a smart city hub that it hopes will enable real-world testing of connected technology where self-driving vehicles share the streets with cars, pedestrians and cyclists.
The Future Mobility Campus Ireland (FMCI) will be a collaborative testbed spread across 12km of public roads, providing the facilities and expertise to harness valuable sensor data, simulate a variety of road environments and traffic scenarios and trial new technologies. The FMCI will also provide the manufacturer with a key research site next to an existing facility, its Shannon software hub.
JLR says the testbed will help advance its research into autonomous, connected, electrified and shared vehicles. The facility will be equipped with sensors throughout the site, along with high-accuracy location systems, a data management and control center and self-driving prototype vehicles.
It will also feature smart junctions, connected roads, autonomous parking and electric vehicle charging as well as links to a 450km stretch of connected highway and a managed air traffic corridor for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Shannon airport along the Shannon Estuary.
JLR is a lead partner of the FMCI and will collaborate with a host of other global technology companies to develop the facility, including Cisco, Seagate, Renovo, Red Hat, Valeo and Mergon. Traditionally such testing sites have been established overseas.