Jaguar Land Rover recently announced plans to launch Future Mobility Campus Ireland (FMCI), a smart mobility hub for real-world connected technology and self-driving vehicle testing.
The testbed will span 12 km of public roads, with driverless vehicles sharing those roads with pedestrians, cyclists and other cars, according to a news release. The all-electric Jaguar I-PACE will be tested on campus as part of the trials, which will include a variety of road environments and traffic scenarios.
“The smart city zone provides a first-class facility for global companies to work together and develop world-leading technology, from autonomous vehicles to connected infrastructure,” FMCI CEO Russell Vickers said, according to the release. “The testbed provides an opportunity to test in the real world and help answer some of the questions posed by the future of mobility in a collaborative and efficient way.”
Sensors will be located throughout the real-world facility, as well as high-accuracy location systems, a data management and control center, and self-driving prototype vehicles. FMCI will feature smart junctions, connected roads, autonomous parking, and electric vehicle charging. The facility will link to a 450 km stretch of connected highway and a managed air traffic corridor for UAS from Shannon airport along the Shannon Estuary in Ireland.
Jaguar Land Rover is collaborating with various global technology companies to develop the facility, including Cisco, Seagate, Renovo, Red Hat, Valeo and Mergon.
