Jaguar Land Rover has unveiled its "360 Virtual Urban Windscreen" as a solution for spotting vehicles in blind spots.
The "Follow Me" Ghost Car Navigation system provides a view of the outside of the car with help from the layer of OLED screen embedded on the car's pillars, which are connected to external cameras and motion sensors, according to the International Business Times. The pillars activate and become transparent when the car stops and detects pedestrians, and they deactivate once the car resumes driving.
Drivers will have greater visibility when they turn their heads to check rear blind spots and while changing lanes thanks to campers connected to the pillar screen.
A halo will appear on the virtual windscreen around pedestrians and cyclists to show them as they move across the street, The Telegraph reported.
The British automaker said the goal of the new system is to help drivers avoid distractions and give them a better view, thus reducing the number of accidents on the road.
"Our ultimate aim is to reduce the potential for accidents and enhance the urban driving experience," said Dr. Wolfgang Epple, director of research and technology at Jaguar Land Rover. "The Jaguar Land Rover research team is developing this technology to improve visibility and 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."
Connecting the virtual windscreen to the Cloud presents the ability to connect the car to roadside infrastructure and businesses, providing drivers with information like gas prices and parking availability. The navigation could also suggest turning at stores and bars, which can sometimes be more visible than road signs and street names.
"We want to present all of this information on a head-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," Epple said.
When, or if, Jaguar will add this virtual windscreen to its cars has yet to be revealed.
