JLR developing more see-through technology

JAGUAR Land Rover (JLR) is developing new technologies to remove blind spots created by a vehicle's A, B and C-pillars, as well as a system to make it easier for drivers to follow navigation prompts.

The 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen, as JLR has dubbed its new system, uses cameras mounted on the outside of the car to project images along the inside of the pillars, giving drivers an unobstructed view of road hazards around them.

This technology will be used in conjunction with a next-generation head-up display that can read other vehicle's movements and predict their driving patterns.

A similar technology, unveiled at the New York motor show earlier this year in the Land Rover Discovery Vision concept, is able to project images of the upcoming terrain onto the display, giving the illusion of a see-through bonnet.

Coupled with the use of vehicle-to-infrastructure communications – which will feed more information about a driver's surroundings to the head-up display – Jaguar Land Rover said in a statement that “pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles would be visible all around the car,” ensuring the safety of all road users.

Jaguar Land Rover director of research and technology Wolfgang Epple said the new technologies are designed to make road safety a priority for all future models.

“The Jaguar Land Rover research team is developing this technology to improve visibility and to give the driver with the right information at the right time,” he said.

“If we can keep the driver's eyes on the road ahead and present information in a non-distracting way, we can help drivers make better decisions in the most demanding and congested driving environments.”

JLR is also touting a new feature, called Follow-Me Ghost Car Navigation, that will make it easier for users to follow navigation instructions.

This new feature will project the image of a ghost car on the head-up display in front of the driver, allowing them to simply follow the projection, turn-by-turn, to their destination.

“Driving on city streets can be a stressful experience, but imagine being able to drive across town without having to look at road signs, or be distracted trying to locate a parking space as you drive by,” Dr Epple said.

“We want to present all of this information on a heads-up display in the driver's eye-line, so the driver doesn't have to seek it out for themselves and take their eyes off the road ahead.”