Jaguar Land Rover develops pothole alert system

Driving into a pothole can result into hefty repair bills. But, here’s a piece of good news for many who drive on roads filled with potholes almost every day. Say thanks to a new technology called MagnaRide which is being developed by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) that will allow its cars to identify the severity and location of poor road surfaces, which include broken drainages, uncovered manholes and potholes.

This new technology is being developed by Jaguar Land Rover’s Advanced Research Centre. The company is currently testing MagnaRide on its Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque vehicles. This system will use a stereo camera to scan the road surface for imperfections such as potholes, raised manholes, and broken drain covers.  The data collected will then be fed to on-board computers that will alert MagnaRide – a semi-active magnetic damper system.

JLR is also exploring how this information could be shared with other drivers, so that they can slow down or avoid potholes altogether.  The company also says that this information could be used to adjust suspension settings ahead of time to reduce the risk of punctures as well as wheel and vehicle damage.

Commenting on the technology, Mike Bell, Global Connected Car Director, Jaguar Land Rover, said, "Our MagneRide equipped Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport vehicles feature sophisticated sensors that allow the vehicle to profile the road surface under the wheels and identify potholes, raised manholes and broken drain covers. By monitoring the motion of the vehicle and changes in the height of the suspension, the car is able to continuously adjust the vehicle's suspension characteristics, giving passengers a more comfortable ride over uneven and damaged road surfaces.”

"While this gives our customers a more comfortable ride, we think there is a huge opportunity to turn the information from these vehicle sensors into 'big data' and share it for the benefit of other road users. This could help prevent billions of pounds of vehicle damage and make road repairs more effective,” he further added.

The Pothole Alert system is just the latest technology which Jaguar Land Rover has demonstrated recently. The company had earlier revealed its Bike Sense system which enables drivers to avoid collision with cyclists.