Jaguar Land Rover is developing new ‘Pothole Alert’ system to prevent damage and discomfort on UK’s bad roads

We often complain about the large number of potholes in the UK and the damage they can do to our cars, but JLR seems to have the answer. The large number of potholes on UK roads are a painful sight, but help is at hand as Jaguar Land Rover have come up with an answer.

A research team at the firm is developing innovative new tech that can find potholes, prepare the car for the impact and even share data on their location with the authorities.

The road-sensing camera system, co-developed with JLR’s research team and Coventry City Council, will be trialled in a Range Rover Evoque with the hope that, if it works correctly, it could make its debut across Jaguar and Land Rover ranges in the very near future.

The Evoque and the new Discovery Sport are already equipped with ‘Magneride’ adaptive dampers, which use sensors to create a profile of the surface passing underneath the car and constantly adjust suspension settings to compensate for rough tarmac. But JLR wants to upgrade this new system so it can prepare for potholes, large ridges and manhole covers before the car runs over them.

It will also share the data over The Cloud in real-time to alert road-repairers and even other road users of exactly where the pothole is. Coventry City public services councillor Rachel Lancaster said the benefit isn’t just for drivers, as the data “could help us identify the cause of the problem, prioritise it and contact the owner of the manhole or drain to get it fixed more quickly”.

The new ingenious technology will certainly go a long way in protecting JLR vehicles, but we will like it to roll over across the automobile industry.