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Jaguar Land Rover introduces the 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen

  • Jaguar Land Rover reveals its ‘360 Virtual Urban Windscreen’ research, which uses transparent roof pillars to give the driver a 360o view outside the car
  • To aid navigation on busy urban roads, a ghost car could be projected in front of the car for the driver to follow
  • The concept uses future Heads-Up Display technology to provide information to keep the driver’s eyes on the road and reduce distraction
  • ‘360 Virtual Urban Windscreen’ and ‘Follow-Me Ghost Car Navigation’ are part of a suite of new concept technologies that Jaguar Land Rover is developing to reduce the potential for accidents

Whitley, UK: Jaguar Land Rover has launched a research project to develop technologies that will offer drivers a 360o view out of their vehicle, uninterrupted by the pillars that support the roof.

A screen would be embedded in the surface of each pillar inside the car and 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.

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Pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles would be visible all around the car – and by combining the transparent pillars with an advanced high quality Heads-Up display, the movement of other road users could be highlighted to the driver with an on-screen halo moving across the car’s virtual windscreen.

When the driver indicates to change direction, when they move their head to look over their shoulder during an overtake manoeuvre, or as the vehicle approaches a junction, the system would automatically make the left or right-hand side pillars transparent.

Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover, 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. 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."

The full potential for the 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen would be delivered by connecting the virtual windscreen to the Cloud. By connecting the car to roadside infrastructure and businesses in the urban landscape, the Virtual Urban Windscreen could present information ranging from petrol station prices to the number of parking spaces available, so drivers won’t have to look for this information themselves.

The connected car could also enhance navigation by advising the driver to turn left or right at more visible landmarks, such as pubs or shops, rather than just road signs or street names. 

While the most intuitive and efficient way to navigate to a specific location is to be able to follow someone who knows the best route – so the Jaguar Land Rover team is developing ‘Follow-MeGhost Car Navigation’,which projects an image of a vehicle in front of the driver’s car for them to follow, turn by turn, to their destination.

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"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," added Dr Epple. "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."

2014-12-15T01:31:40-05:00December 15, 2014|
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We need more functional details but here’s justDrive from Jaguar Land Rover. Looks neat but…

So JLR has announced a new app for the InControl system but I’m still unclear how it all works together and why this new app ecosystem needs to be created.

And one final bit of rant – is the InControl button always on the side of the touchscreen?  Does every app actually have to waste that much screen space for a “home button”?  Seriously, lose the MODE button if that’s the case.

Press release is below the image.

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  • Jaguar Land Rover announces next stage of its award-winning InControl infotainment and connectivity platform
  • Silicon Valley’s CloudCar develops voice-activated multi-purpose app, justDrive, for use in Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles within company’s proprietary inControl Apps system
  • Using one of the most advanced voice recognition packages in the world, justDrive offers the driver a unified, voice-enabled interface with a wide variety of apps and services including Spotify, Twitter and Yelp
  • Jaguar Land Rover opens its first overseas R&D facility in Portland, Oregon, to develop future infotainment and connected car technologies

LOS ANGELES – Jaguar Land Rover has announced the launch of justDrive™, an industry-leading app technology that integrates multiple smartphone apps into a single, voice-activated in-car experience.

Developed by Silicon Valley-based CloudCar™, Jaguar Land Rover has optimized justDrive™ for its InControl™ platform for both Apple iOS8 and Android phones. ‘justDrive for Jaguar Land Rover’ integrates popular apps and services, such as Spotify, Twitter, Yelp and others, to give Jaguar and Land Rover drivers an unprecedented level of connectivity for navigation, media, social interaction, voice search and information services while minimising driver distraction.

justDrive will join 17 other apps including Stitcher, IheartRadio and Parkopedia currently in Jaguar Land Rover’s InControl Apps in-car infotainment system. Free to download, justDrive is available from early 2015 and offers drivers continuously updated apps and services throughout their vehicle ownership.

Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover, said: "Our InControl system already allows the driver to plug their smartphone into the vehicle and then safely control their apps through the vehicle’s touchscreen. The apps are enhanced for in-car use, so it is exactly like having your smartphone installed in your dashboard.

"Today, we are advancing our InControl system a stage further and to the forefront of the industry with the launch of justDrive. This moves the driver from the task-oriented, app-specific touch-based use of individual apps, to full control of all chosen app content through plain natural speech or touch interface."

justDrive uses one of the most advanced plain speech recognition packages in the world, so customers can communicate naturally with their car, rather than using simple syntax commands. justDrive’s intelligence takes care of finding the best results for a user’s request from among the many applications and services that it has aggregated. So instead of the driver having to specify which navigation provider to search for when looking for the closest gas station, they can simply ask justDrive for directions.

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The driver can dictate and then send a tweet or SMS by simply saying: ‘Tell George I’ll be late’, with justDrive reading the content of the message back to you before it is sent. You can also ask justDrive to play a particular song, just by asking for it.

"While our aim is to significantly enhance the driving experience through unprecedented levels of connectivity, we also want to reduce driver distraction. So we have worked closely with the CloudCar team to ensure justDrive is ‘right for driving’," added Dr Epple. "Using speech as a key enabler, together with justDrive’s simple and clean user interface, means we only show essential information to help create a safe, non-distracting driving environment."

New technology research centre opens in Portland

To support the development of other future innovative infotainment technologies, Jaguar Land Rover has opened its first overseas R&D facility in Portland, Oregon.

The $3m (£2m) Open Software Technology Center will focus on the development and application of advanced connected technologies and will help lead the development of future Jaguar and Land Rover infotainment systems.

The 15,000 sq.ft facility features a multimedia creative suite, innovation spaces, a development laboratory and a six-bay vehicle workshop. It employs a team of around 30 infotainment specialists, including 16 highly experienced software engineers.

Dr Epple said: "Our new Open Software Technology Center will create many more opportunities for Jaguar Land Rover to collaborate with some of the most innovative and ground-breaking technology companies in the world.

"Not only will the Portland team augment the skills of our 240-strong team of infotainment engineers in the UK, but they will develop and lead research projects with large and small technology companies up and down the West Coast. We want to help guide the technological direction these innovators are taking as they help us develop exciting new in-car experiences for our customers in the future."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  • justDrive joins 17 others apps available on the Jaguar Land Rover InControl Apps system including: AudioBooks, Calendar, Cityseeker, Contacts, Eventseeker, Hotelseeker, iHeartRadio, Mileage tracker, MobileDay, Music Player, NewsBeat, Parkopedia, News on Board, NPR, Rivet Radio, Stitcher, Sygic.
2014-11-19T00:29:45-05:00November 19, 2014|
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MY2015 Range Rover Official Info & Pricing for the North American Market

The details we’ve all been waiting for, linked below is JLR Bulletin MRPR14-24 2015 MY RANGE ROVER PRODUCT INFORMATION WITH PRICING.  We knew most of what was changing but still some interesting items.  Also news, the US orders will start in late July with builds beginning October 13, 2014.

The Land Rover badging has made its way to the engine cover for the 2015 Range Rover.

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We also can confirm that side view approach/puddle lamps will match the Range Rover logo disc found between the front and rear doors of Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport.  This will bring the silhouette imagery to the entire Range Rover family.

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Lots of other little things:

  • A literally slicker wood veneer option for the powered tray tables in the Autobiography Black,
  • Soft Door Close is now standard with HSE and above.
  • The InControl system everyone is excited for is a $430 option
  • For the truly sensitive customers who just can’t handle it, you can now opt for a non-heated windshield

And some 2015 Range Rover pricing:

Range Rover
 		 $83,495
Range Rover HSE
 		 $89,995
Range Rover HSE LWB
 		 $95,195
Range Rover Supercharged
 		 $101,995
Range Rover Supercharged LWB
 		 $106,995
Range Rover Autobiography
 		 $137,995
Range Rover Autobiography LWB
 		 $142,995
Range Rover Autobiography Black
 		 $186,495
Range Rover Autobiography Black with  
   Vallorie White Paint $200,995

Check it out:

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Click on image above or here to download completely MPR14-24 bulletin as a PDF

2014-07-30T11:01:01-04:00July 25, 2014|
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Jaguar Land Rover Develops The Self-Learning Intelligent Car Of The Future

Continued tech news from last weeks Jaguar Land Rover Technology Showcase:

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  • The intelligent car will have its own on-board ‘Smart Assistant’ to carry out a host of functions to allow the driver to concentrate on driving
  • The ground-breaking system will minimise driver distraction to reduce the potential for accidents – with an eventual goal of zero accidents
  • New state-of-the-art software recognises the driver and learns their preferences. It can then predict their routine and changing preferences based on variables such as the weather and their schedule for the day
  • The ‘Smart Assistant’ will check your calendar in advance and remind you to take your child’s sports kit to sports day
  • The self-learning car will learn an individual’s driving style and apply them when Auto Adaptive Cruise Control (AACC) is engaged

(more…)

2014-07-15T00:15:03-04:00July 17, 2014|
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Jaguar Land Rover Develops Virtual Technologies To Enhance Performance Driving And Reduce Distraction

Jaguar Virtual Windscreen

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  • Jaguar Land Rover reveals its ‘Jaguar Virtual Windscreen’ concept that will aid road and track driving
  • Hazard, speed, navigation data and the racing line could all be projected onto the entire windscreen.
  • Jaguar Land Rover demonstrates virtual imaging technology that could offer drivers a spectacles-free 3D image instrument cluster, replacing the rear view mirror
  • ‘Jaguar Virtual Windscreen’, 3D cluster and gesture control are part of a suite of new concept technologies that will reduce driver distraction

Whitley, UK: Jaguar Land Rover is creating cutting-edge technologies to develop new ways to give drivers higher quality, life-like graphics and information that will offer an enhanced ‘virtual’ view of the road or race track.

The ‘Jaguar Virtual Windscreen’ concept uses the entire windscreen as a display so the driver’s eyes need never leave the road.  High quality hazard, speed and navigation icons could all be projected onto the screen together. For performance drivers, imagery that could aid track driving includes:

  • Racing line and braking guidance. Virtual racing lines on the windscreen appear to be marked on the track ahead for optimum racing line, with changes in colour to indicate braking guidance.
  • Ghost car racing. Improve your lap times by racing a ‘ghost car’ visualisation of your car on a previous lap, or compete against a lap uploaded from another driver.
  • Virtual cones can be laid out on the track ahead for driver training. These could be moved as the driver’s ability improves.

2014-07-15T00:13:53-04:00July 16, 2014|
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