Jaguar Land Rover conducting research on transparent car pillars

On December 17, 2014 Jaguar Land Rover launched an R&D project to develop a technology which enables drivers to have a 3600 view of their vehicles. In current vehicles the A, B and C pillars that support the roof interrupt the driver’s view of surroundings. These vehicles will use a screen which will be embedded in the surface of the pillars inside the cars. These screens will take a live video feed from cameras covering the angles outside the car thus removing blind spots. For drivers this means pedestrians, cyclists or other vehicles in the car’s surroundings will be visible. The combination of transparent pillars with an efficient Heads-Up display will highlight the movement of other commuters using a halo moving across the car’s virtual windscreen.

When a driver will indicate a change in direction or when they move their head back to look before overtaking another vehicle or when the vehicle approaches a cross section, the system will immediately make the left or right-hand side pillars transparent. The Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover, Dr Wolfgang Epple stated that their ultimate aim was to minimise the hazards which caused accidents and try to enhance the drive experience of their customers. He further added that the team at Jaguar Land Rover was developing this technology to increase road visibility for the driver and to give drivers the right information at the right time. The whole idea is centered on providing drivers with important information regarding their surroundings without distracting them.

To achieve the full potential of the 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen it would have to be connected to a Cloud based system. This vehicle would have the capability to connect with roadside infrastructure and businesses in the urban landscape. This Virtual Urban Windscreen will then be able to present the driver with information ranging from petrol station prices to the availability of parking spaces. The connected car concept will also use landmarks like pubs or shops, rather than just road signs or street names to guide the drivers in navigation. The Jaguar Land Rover team is also developing a ‘Follow-Me Ghost Car Navigation’ system which will project an image of a vehicle on the driver’s screen for them to follow.