Land Rover knows where you're going and how you want to get there

Thu, 10 Jul 2014

Land Rover makes some of the most capable SUVs on or off the road, and some of the most luxurious too. But the British automaker isn't about to rest on those laurels – not when every other automaker assaults its territory with sport-utes of their own. That's why Land Rover has been working so hard on nifty new technologies from a depth-sounder in the door mirror of the Range Rover Sport an augmented-reality head-up display that makes the whole front of the car virtually disappear.

JLR's newest tech may not be ground-breaking, but its integration promises to make driving around town that much easier. The system syncs with the driver's smartphone and uses all manner of parameters – including driver habits, weather and location as well as the presence of other passengers – to make the commute go as smoothly as possible. Get into the car and it'll set the seat and mirrors for you. No big deal, because lots of cars do that. But it'll also set up the nav system to take you to work and the sound system to play your favorite music. Okay, getting more interesting.

Get in with your kids and it'll know not only that you've got to drop them off at school first (or remind you to pack their gym bag if they've got soccer practice after school that day) but that they might not enjoy that Chumbawamba album you've been listening to since college and it'll play something it knows you'll all enjoy based on your listening history. Then it'll switch back to Tubthumping once the kids are out, remind you of your morning meeting and alert those you're scheduled to meet with if you get stuck in traffic while finding you a better route to get there, monitoring fuel levels all the while and telling you if you'll need to tank up before you reach your destination. It knows if you like calling your mother on the drive to work and will lower the air suspension to make it easier to hop out once you get there.

Impressive stuff, and you can delve deeper into it in the press release and video below.

JAGUAR LAND ROVER DEVELOPS THE SELF-LEARNING INTELLIGENT CAR OF THE FUTURE

- The intelligent car will have its own on-board 'Smart Assistant' to carry out a host of functions to allow the driver to concentrate on driving
- The ground-breaking system will minimise driver distraction to reduce the potential for accidents – with an eventual goal of zero accidents
- New state-of-the-art software recognises the driver and learns their preferences. It can then predict their routine and changing preferences based on variables such as the weather and their schedule for the day
- The 'Smart Assistant' will check your calendar in advance and remind you to take your child's sports kit to sports day
- The self-learning car will learn an individual's driving style and apply them when Auto Adaptive Cruise Control (AACC) is engaged

Whitley, UK: Cutting-edge technology is being pioneered by researchers at Jaguar Land Rover to develop a truly intelligent self-learning vehicle that will offer a completely personalised driving experience and help prevent accidents by reducing driver distraction.

Using the latest machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques, Jaguar Land Rover's self-learning car will offer a comprehensive array of services to the driver, courtesy of a new learning algorithm that recognises who is in the car and learns their preferences and driving style. The software then applies this learning by using a range of variables including your calendar, the time of day, traffic conditions and the weather to predict driver behaviour and take over many of the daily driving 'chores', allowing the driver to concentrate on the road ahead.

Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology for Jaguar Land Rover, said: "The aim of our self-learning technology is to minimise driver distraction, which will help reduce the risk of accidents. Presenting the driver with information just at the right time whilst driving will reduce both cognitive distraction and the need for the driver to look away from the road to scroll through phone lists, or adjust mirrors, temperature or seat functions while on the road.

"Up until now most self-learning car research has only focused on traffic or navigation prediction. We want to take this a significant step further and our new learning algorithm means information learnt about you will deliver a completely personalised driving experience and enhance driving pleasure."

The intelligent car will recognise the driver by the smartphone or other device in their pocket and by the time the driver has opened the car door, the mirrors, steering wheel and seat settings will all be set to the individual's preferences. The cabin will be pre-set to the desired temperature – and be intelligent enough to change it if it is snowing or raining.

Through the 'Smart Assistant', the car will also review your schedule for the day and intelligently pre-set the navigation depending on traffic conditions to avoid congestion. It will also predict your next destination based on your schedule.

The self-learning car will also know if you are going to the gym, and will have learnt that you prefer a certain temperature on the way there to warm-up, and a different temperature to cool down on your way home. If you always use the massage function at a particular time or location on a journey, the car will be able to predict this as well.

If you are taking the children to school, the car will recognise every passenger and offer each their own preferred infotainment options – and the 'Smart Assistant' will review your calendar and remind you before you leave the house - by sending a note to your smartphone - to collect your children's sport kit as it knows you are going to their sports day.

If you usually make a phone call at a certain time or on a particular journey, the car will predict this and will offer to make the call. If you are going to be late for your next appointment, the car will offer to email or call ahead with minimal or no interaction from the driver.

The self-learning car will also be able to learn an individual's driving style in a range of traffic conditions and on different types of road. When the driver activates Auto Adaptive Cruise Control (AACC) the car will be able to apply these learned distance settings and acceleration profiles to automated cruise control.

"By developing a learning function for Adaptive Cruise Control, it is technology concepts like the self-learning car that will ensure any future intelligent car remains fun and rewarding to drive as we move closer to more autonomous driving over the next 10 years," added Dr Epple. "This is important because in the future customers will still want an emotional connection and a thrilling drive - with the ability to drive autonomously when required."

The personalised experience would also not be limited to the car owned by the driver. If you hire an intelligent Jaguar or Land Rover in the future, the car will recognise the driver and passengers and offer them the same preferences learned by their vehicle at home.

Some of the features included in the Self-Learning Car concept:
- Vehicle Personalisation – climate, seat, steering wheel, mirrors and infotainment settings.
- Destination Prediction – automatic destination entry to navigation system based on historical usage.
- Fuel Assist– suggests fuel stations which have the driver's preferred brand and location, based on historical usage. The car will let you know if you have enough fuel before long journeys the day before you travel.
- Predictive Phone Call – predicts who you are likely to call in a certain situation.
- Passenger Awareness – will activate passenger preferred infotainment settings and personal climate zones.
- Intelligent Notifications – based on traffic situation, the car can alert people that you will be late or provide relevant contextual updates such as flight delays on your drive to the airport.
- Auto Adaptive Cruise Control (AACC) – when AACC is activated, the car applies the distance setting and acceleration profile it has learned when the driver is driving the vehicle.

By Noah Joseph