Jaguar Wants To Make Blind Spots A Thing Of The Past
Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar is currently working on a new virtual-reality cockpit that will make blind spots a thing of the past.
Called the "360 Urban Virtual Windscreen," Jaguar's newest assistance technology will allow the driver to see straight through the car's pillars. In urban conditions, this will allow those behind the wheel of a Jag to enjoy a complete view of their surroundings.
A Jag turning at an intersection will have "virtually" transparent "A" pillars so the driver can see if there are oncoming cars, bicyclists, or pedestrians.
For particularly dangerous obstacles or perilously close pedestrians, the system will automatically flag the interloper and project a warning on the windshield using the car's heads-up-display.
When reversing or changing lanes on highways, Jaguar's virtual technology will also render the car's "B" and "C" pillars invisible, as well, so the driver will have a less obstructed view over his or her shoulder. To avoid having a distracting amount of video screens on, the pillar-mounted displays activate based on the orientation of the driver's head.
Parent company Jaguar Land Rover's virtual-windshield technology is a concept similar to the see-through hood the company debuted earlier this year. That piece of techno-wizardry allows Land Rover drivers to see a live video feed of the terrain underneath the SUV, projected onto the windshield - giving the impression of a transparent hood.
Unlike the Land Rover, which is limited to the using cameras and a heads up display to project images onto the windshield, the new Jaguar system builds upon that by embedding video displays into all of the car's pillars. This creates a physical bank of video displays that serve as electronic extension of the car's physical windows.
The Jaguar Land Rover virtual windshield is still in its developmental phase, but we don't be shocked to find them on the company's luxury offerings in the near future.
Have a look at the full introduction video below: