Jaguar Land Rover launches new windscreen technology research project

UK-based automotive company Jaguar Land Rover has launched a research project to develop ‘360 Virtual Urban Windscreen’ technology, which uses transparent roof pillars to give the driver a 360° view outside the car.

The surface of each pillar inside the car will be fitted with the windscreen that would take a live video feed from cameras covering the angles outside the car usually obscured in the blind spots created by the A, B and C-pillars.

The screen gives the visibility of pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles around the car.

An on-screen halo moving across the car’s virtual windscreen provides movement of other road users to the driver by combining the transparent pillars with an advanced Heads-Up display technology.

The system automatically makes the left or right-hand side pillars transparent at a time when the driver indicates to change direction or as the vehicle approaches a junction.

Jaguar Land Rover director of research and technology Dr Wolfgang Epple said: "Our ultimate aim is to reduce road accidents and enhance the urban driving experience.

"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."

Drivers will be able to make better decisions in the most demanding and congested driving environments, by keeping their eyes on the road ahead.

The full potential for the windscreen would be delivered by connecting the virtual windscreen to the cloud.

The Virtual Urban Windscreen will connect the car to roadside infrastructure and businesses in the urban landscape and presents information ranging from petrol station prices to the number of parking spaces available.

Jaguar Land Rover’s team is also developing ‘Follow-MeGhost Car Navigation’, to facilitate navigation on busy urban roads.

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Image: Jaguar Land Rover Urban Windscreen ‘Follow-Me’ Ghost Car. Photo: courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover.