Jaguar Land Rover has revealed its Virtual Windcsreen concept which it says can help reduce driver distraction. The Jaguar Virtual Windscreen can also be used to aid performance driving on a racetrack, too, as the image above shows.
By using on screen graphics—yes, that’s right on the windscreen—the system shows you the optimum racing line, when you should be full throttle, when you should be braking and even when you should be applying partial throttle. In addition you get live telemetry and lap time info from your own car as well as data from your competitors.
Want to try and recreate your perfect lap? Then just load up the ghost car that has your best lap time stored away and follow the leader, as it were.
A video below shows the system in action. What the video doesn’t show is the system’s use of gesture control, in much the same way as smartphones operate. The aim here is to limit the necessity to look and feel for buttons and controls.
“We are working on research projects that will give the driver better information to enhance the driving experience,” said Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology for Jaguar Land Rover. “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.”
This system looks very interesting and the benefits are easy to see. Although, far from reducing driver distraction, at first, we think it could contribute to distraction until the driver becomes familiar with the screen display.
The Virtual Windscreen looks fine in the video, in a two-dimensional PlayStation-like situation, but when you’re sitting in the car, in a three-dimensional world, with real cars beside you, we think it might take some getting used to.
One thing is clear, we’d very much like to try this out for ourselves!