Jaguar Land Rover Builds New Lab to Test Autonomous Driving

Jaguar Land Rover is building a new testing facility near its Gaydon headquarters to test its upcoming vehicles for electrical and radio interference.

The so-called Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) laboratory will ensure future vehicles meet current and future legislation and quality standards for connectivity and electronics. 

The new Ranger Rover Sport, which was launched in May, was the first car to undergo bespoke testing at the facility. 

“The importance of testing our vehicles for electromagnetic compatibility cannot be underestimated. Opening this new testing facility is an important step forward for the business and it will play a crucial role in helping us deliver quality, legal, and customer satisfaction," says Peter Phillips, Senior Manager, Electromagnetics and Compliance at Jaguar Land Rover. 

While the lab and testing might sound a bit arcane, EMC is the ability of electric equipment and systems to function correctly in their electromagnetic environment. It works by limiting the unintentional generation, propagation and reception of electromagnetic energy to reduce the risk of unwanted effects such as electromagnetic interference.

JLR's new lab features two anechoic chambers — essentially rooms that are insulated from electromagnetic waves. One features a rolling road that allows engineers to test the vehicles at speed, as well as equipment to assess the performance of individual components, such as batteries or electric motors.

In practice, this means that JLR will be able to ensure its cars have improved Bluetooth, GPS, WiFi, 4G, 5G, adaptive cruise control, wireless charging, and blind spot monitoring performance.

Similarly, JLR says that the EMC is critical for improving the performance of its digital and cloud-based software and its Over-The-Air updates through to autonomous driving technology. 

Dedicated testing facilities for software are becoming increasingly commonplace, with BMW recently announcing a motorway-style setup in the Czech Republic.