Jaguar Land Rover lights up the road for self-driving vehicles

Jaguar Land Rover has developed a an intelligent system that beams a series of projections onto the road to show the future intentions of a 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% of drivers and pedestrians are worried about sharing the road with autonomous vehicles.

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 U.K. Autodrive project.

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.