BETTER PARTSBrave new world of technology
Gaydon ( UK), July 11, 2014
Able to clean, linked, desirable and intelligent: These attributes are, according to Dr. Wolfgang Epple, director of the Department of Research and Development at Jaguar Land Rover, the future models are distinguished. What will help to achieve this goal? We were in the company's development center in Gaydon to take a look into the future. The looks on the part not only look but also sounds like a mixture of the Star Wars saga, Stanley Kubrick's supercomputer HAL 9000 and the video game series Gran Turismo.
Custom Grips
If one is always on the road, one can observe that there is already a lot of cars in part have more intelligence than their drivers. Man should in future interactive and intuitive benefit from the grips of its means of locomotion. At Jaguar Land Rover is called the " Human Machine Interface" and begins now in the new F-Type with the possibility of one's own preferences, stored in smartphone apps to display on the screen of the center console. But the British are already thinking a few years into the future and show where it could go with the man-machine combination.
May the Force be with you this authority
The self-learning automotive recognizes from the mobile phone, who approaches him and adjusts to all preferences of the approaching person. Mirrors, Seat, temperature and music are brought into the preferred position. Jaguar Land Rover is also planning an automated data transfer between car and driver. If the driver has, for example, an appointment in his smartphone calendar, the navigation system could advance calculate the best route and remind the driver via push message to the imminent departure. During the trip, more actions of all occupants will be saved and used for future projections. An example: The driver calls to a certain time on weekdays always a particular person from his phonebook. After a short time, the system could register this behavior and propose on his own at the same time or in the same place a call. A real English butler flat. What the pilot remains to be done, for example, with an elegant gesture the sunroof open as if by magic or close. May the power of gesture control to be with him.
Hidden and visible laser
This would turn Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker certainly fun: laser-based systems. They should help to increase security. Referred to here are not only invisible any distance meter and traffic monitor, but real, visible laser. The with green laser light projected before the car width for example, could help to more easily pass through narrow passages. But even with the invisible counterpart referenced a Jaguar - Land Rover expert, part time apparently Jedi, about reactions from " his book with the crazy ideas ": the vehicle can be to road-facing laser beams detect shoals in unknown waters and show the driver as the best way through rivers or shallow lakes.
Augmented Reality
Want to visualize all information on either a stuck in the development of 3-D instrument cluster behind the steering wheel or on the growing screens in the center console. However, the ambitious plan is a over the entire windshield extending head-up display. Hidden behind the word " augmented reality " The principle is simple, the real world with virtual additions in view, informative and make the same time exciting. Jaguar Land Rover can be so annoying the hood disappear for example when driving uphill by cameras set a previously captured image of the subsurface over the hood. On a race track, it would be possible to project the ideal line with shifting and braking points in the image of the real world. Would be very important: to Always keep in mind that there is no damage model for vehicles in the video game Gran Turismo. A real car reacts differently and costs in heavy tape contact not only money, but possibly also their own lives.
New engines from the modular
With all the futuristic and technical development ideas can quickly fade into the background, that the engine range of Jaguar Land Rover will make a real leap forward. The company will in future no longer equip its vehicles with engines of suppliers. Instead, quickly produce a new engine plant in Wolverhampton was built. In it are manufactured from January 2015 from scratch developed four-cylinder engines. The aggregates with 500 cubic centimeters per cylinder, whether diesel or petrol, in their base the same and so depending on the vehicle with a variety of add-on parts such as turbochargers configurable and expandable. Jaguar Land Rover will take with them the legal for 2020 EU maximum limit for the CO2 emissions of 95 g / km in attack. To ensure this limit on all models, is set very soon on hybrid technology for larger vehicles of the manufacturer.
thoughts for the future
The new modular engine is in the proposed 2015 sports sedan Jaguar XE to its first use. There is evidently a lot to do at the company headquarters in Gaydon English. CTO Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart adds: "It's great to be currently and in the future at Jaguar Land Rover, just as an engineer. " Whether not only the development but also the use of the end user triggers joy, remains to be seen . (ml )