AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
INTELLIGENT SYSTEM
JAGUAR LAND ROVER
JAGUAR LAND ROVER LIGHTS UP THE ROAD AHEAD
FOR SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES OF THE FUTURE
Jaguar Land Rover has developed a system
that projects the direction of travel onto the
road ahead of self-driving vehicles, to tell
other road users what it is going to do next.
The intelligent technology beams a series
of projections onto the road to show the
future intentions of the vehicle - for example
stopping and turning left or right - as part of
research into how people can develop their
trust in autonomous technology. In the future
the projections could even be used to share
obstacle detection and journey updates with
pedestrians.
These projections, tested on autonomous
pods developed by Aurrigo, feature a series
of lines or bars with adjustable spacing. The
gaps shorten as the pod is preparing to brake
before fully compressing at a stop. As the
pod moves off and accelerates, the spacing
between the lines extends. Upon approaching
a turn, the bars fan out left or right to indicate
the direction of travel.
Trials were set up by a team of advanced
engineers, working in Jaguar Land Rover’s
Future Mobility division, supported by
cognitive psychologists, after studies showed
41 percent of drivers and pedestrians
are worried about sharing the road with
autonomous vehicles*.
The innovative system was tested on a
fabricated street scene at a Coventry facility
with engineers recording trust levels reported
by pedestrians both with and without
projections.
The trust trial programme - which also
included fitting of ‘virtual eyes’ to the
intelligent pods in 2018 to see if making eye
contact improved trust in the technology**
- was conducted as part of Jaguar Land
Rover’s government-supported UK Autodrive
project.
Pete Bennett, Future Mobility Research
Manager at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “The
trials are about understanding how much
information a self-driving vehicle should
share with a pedestrian to gain their trust.
Just like any new technology, humans have
to learn to trust it, and when it comes to
autonomous vehicles, pedestrians must
have confidence they can cross the road
safely. This pioneering research is forming
the basis of ongoing development into how
self-driving cars will interact with people in
the future.”
Safety remains the priority as Jaguar Land
Rover invests in self-driving technology,
becoming automotive leaders in
autonomous, connected, electric and shared
mobility. The trial is aligned with the brand’s
long-term strategic goals: to make cars safer,
free up people’s valuable time and improve
mobility for everyone.
This commitment extends to Jaguar
Land Rover’s current models with a suite
of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
including Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot
Assist and Intelligent Speed Limiter available
across its range of vehicles, including the
Jaguar F-PACE and Range Rover Velar.
www.aurrigo.com
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PECM Issue 37