Jaguar Land Rover Develops Virtual Technologies To Enhance Performance Driving And Reduce Distraction

• 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

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.

Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology for Jaguar Land Rover, said: "We are working on research projects that will give the driver better information to enhance the driving experience. By presenting the highest quality imagery possible, a driver need only look at a display once. Showing virtual images that allow the driver to accurately judge speed and distance will enable better decision-making and offer real benefits for every-day driving on the road, or the track."

Jaguar Land Rover is developing a gesture control system to keep the driver's eyes on the road and reduce distraction by limiting the need to look at or feel for buttons and switches to press. 

Jaguar Land Rover's gesture control research uses E-Field Sensing, which is based on the latest capacitive discharge touch screens and gives much greater accuracy than ever before. A smartphone today detects the proximity of a user's finger from 5mm. The Jaguar Land Rover system increases the range of the sensing field to around 15cm which means the system can be used to accurately track a user's hand and any gestures it makes inside the car.

"Gesture control has already become an accepted form of controlling anything from TV sets to games consoles. The next logical step is to control selected in-car features. We have identified which functions still need to be controlled by physical buttons and which could be controlled by gesture and carefully calibrated motion sensors," said Dr Epple. "The system is currently being tested on a number of features including sunblinds, rear wipers and satellite navigation maps. It has the potential to be on sale within the next few years."

Jaguar Land Rover's research team is also looking at technology that could replace rear view and external mirrors with cameras and virtual displays. Using two-dimensional imaging to replace mirrors is limited by the fact that single plane images on a screen do not allow the driver to accurately judge the distance or speed of other road users.

Jaguar Land Rover has therefore developed an innovative 3D instrument cluster, which uses the latest head- and eye-tracking technology to create a natural-looking, specs-free 3D image on the instrument panel. Cameras positioned in the instrument binnacle or steering column area track the position of the user's head and eyes. Software then adjusts the image projection in order to create a 3D effect by feeding each eye two slightly differing angles of a particular image. This creates the perception of depth which allows the driver to judge distance.

Jaguar Land Rover posts highest ever half yearly sales, and it can only get better.

• Jaguar Land Rover delivers strongest ever half year sales performance, retailing 240,372 vehicles in the first half of 2014, up 14% year-on-year
• More vehicles delivered in the first six months of 2014 than in the whole of 2010
• Jaguar sells 43,587 vehicles in the first six months, up 16% year-on-year
• Land Rover sells 196,785 vehicles year to date, up 14% year-on-year
• In the month of June, Jaguar Land Rover retailed 39,594 vehicles, 17% up year-on-year
• Export growth recognised through Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade

Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's leading manufacturer of premium luxury vehicles, delivered its strongest ever half year sales performance, retailing 240,372 vehicles January to June 2014, up 14% versus the same period last year.  The company delivered more vehicles in the past six months than in the whole of 2010.  In the month of June, Jaguar Land Rover retailed 39,594 vehicles, 17% up year-on-year.

Making even more customers feel "Alive", Jaguar sales rose 16% year-on-year, retailing 43,587 vehicles in the calendar year to date and 7,595 in the month of June alone.

Land Rover strengthened its position as a world-leading manufacturer of all-terrain SUVs, going "Above and Beyond" with six-month Land Rover sales reaching 196,785 vehicles, up 14% year-on- year.  In June, Land Rover sold 31,999 vehicles, up 18% with strong performances across the range.

In June, Jaguar Land Rover was recognised for its sustained sales success through the 2014 Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade.  During the first six months of the year, Jaguar Land Rover models have received more than 50 international awards.

Commenting on the half year sales performance, Andy Goss, Jaguar Land Rover Group Sales Operations Director, said:  

"It is very encouraging to see both of our Jaguar and Land Rover brands delivering such strong performances for the first half of 2014.  Range Rover Sport sales are up remarkably since last year and, 21 months since it was rolled out, the Range Rover remains strong, with sales performance continuing to grow year-on-year.  Our top-selling model, the Range Rover Evoque, also continues to show solid growth.   For Jaguar, the F-Type continues to drive sales and raise brand awareness with more customers around the world."

Jaguar Land Rover continues to deliver on its strategic growth plans, which will see the company investing in 50 new product actions over the next five years.  This includes £1.5 billion to introduce an all-new, technically-advanced aluminium vehicle architecture in forthcoming models, beginning with the new Jaguar XE premium sedan to be manufactured from 2015 at the company's Solihull facility.  The new Land Rover Discovery Sport, which will go on sale in 2015, will be the most versatile and capable vehicle in the compact SUV segment.  It is the first member of an all-new family of Discovery vehicles, inspired by the Discovery Vision Concept which was showcased at the New York International Auto Show in April.