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Jaguar Land Rover and Cambridge have developed a touchless touchscreen

Jaguar Land Rover and the University of Cambridge are working on new touchscreen technology that eliminates the need to touch the screen. Counterintuitive, right? It’s called “predictive touch” for now, in part because the system is able to predict what you might be aiming for on the screen.  The video at the top of this post is the best way to understand how users will interact with the tech, but weÂ’ll do some more explaining here. You simply reach out with your finger pointing toward the item on screen that you want to select. ItÂ’ll highlight the item and then select it. HereÂ’s how it works, according to the University of Cambridge: “The technology uses machine intelligence to determine the item the user intends to select on the screen early in the pointing task, speeding up the interaction. It uses a gesture tracker, including vision-based or radio frequency-based sensors, which are increasingly common in consumer electronics; contextual information such as user profile, interface design, environmental conditions; and data available from other sensors, such as an eye-gaze tracker, to infer the userÂ’s intent in real time.” Cambridge claims that lab tests showed a 50 percent reduction in both effort and time by the driver in using the screen, which would theoretically translate to more time looking at the road and less time jabbing away at the screen. If the prediction and machine learning tech is good enough, we could see this resulting in a reduced number of accidental inputs. However, on a certain level it almost sounds more difficult to point at a screen while moving than it does to actually touch a section of that screen. Without using the tech and its supposedly great predictive abilities, we canÂ’t come to any grand conclusions. One comparison you may already be thinking of is BMWÂ’s Gesture Controls. ItÂ’s already been addressed with a subtle diss from Cambridge: “Our technology has numerous advantages over more basic mid-air interaction techniques or conventional gesture recognition, because it supports intuitive interactions with legacy interface designs and doesnÂ’t require any learning on the part of the user,” said Dr Bashar Ahmad of the University of Cambridge. Of course, this tech can be used for much more than just vehicle touchscreen control. Cambridge says it could be integrated into ATMs, airport check-in kiosks, grocery store self checkouts and more.

Jaguar Land Rover likely to build US plant... in three years

Jaguar Land Rover may very well open a plant in the United States, but the latest word has it that it'll be another three years or so before the company even makes a decision on the matter. The prospect first came up on our radar back in October when we reported that JLR was considering building a plant in the South. Georgia governor Nathan Deal even flew to the UK to solicit JLR's business. Former parent-company chairman Ratan Tata subsequently confirmed the idea was under consideration last month. And now the British automaker's CEO has told Automotive News that JLR will need a US assembly plant to fuel its growth in the vital North American market, but that'll it'll take a while to get going. The reasons for the delay, according to chief executive Ralf Speth, are threefold. For one thing, the automaker has its hands full at the moment opening plants in other locations: last year it opened one in China and this year it opened one in Brazil. It also recently opened a new SVO facility, an electric-propulsion R&D center and a new engine plant all in the UK, and can only handle building so many new facilities at a time. JLR will also need US suppliers of aluminum components to step up their game, as the company relies heavily on aluminum construction for their vehicles. US automakers shifting to aluminum for models like the new Ford F-150 will encourage American suppliers to get into the game, but it may be a while before they're up to Jaguar Land Rover standards. Finally, JLR will need to increase its sales potential in the US in order to justify local production. Speth says the company would need one model of which it could sell 30,000 to 40,000 units in the US alone, and it sold less than 18,000 units of its best-selling the Range Rover Sport here last year. In fact the entire Jaguar brand sold less than 16,000 units throughout all of last year in America, with Land Rover selling far more at over 50,000 units to contribute to total sales of over 67,000 units. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jaguar Land Rover Engine Manufacturing Center View 16 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Jaguar Land Rover Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover jaguar land rover jlr

2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake Quick Spin Review | Special XF no more

The 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake is a wagon, and as such, one must praise its existence. We need more of them. It looks sensational in all its long-roofed glory, especially in Firenze Red and the gloss black exterior trim package — yowza. Plus, its cargo area is deep, wide and generally voluminous. It would be nice if Jaguar included a roll-up net partition for dogs or to prevent high-mounted cargo from flying forward (as Audi does in the Allroad), but nevertheless, the XF Sportbrake should be more functional than many crossover SUVs. It should certainly be more enjoyable to drive, as the XF delivers with Jag's usual steering excellence and body control. While other midsize luxury sedans have drifted away from the sporting realm (cough, BMW 5 Series), the XF maintains its engagement with the driver. As we discovered when driven back-to-back with the Volvo V90, it's one of the sportiest of sport wagons. It's definitely the sportiest of Sportbrakes. However, it's the "XF" bit that disappoints. The original XF was really something when it debuted, featuring seductively sleek styling in a segment of serious German sedans. The distinctive cabin put on a show with rotating air vents and a rotary shifter that rose into your hand upon pressing the start button. The fact that the XF was different inside and outside from its fellow Jaguars also differed from the Russian nesting doll design approach of its competitors. The original wasn't without flaws, but it was special. This 2018 XF just isn't. The cabin is the biggest problem, as it looks identical to those of the cheaper XE and F-Pace SUV, and is pretty unremarkable and, well, dull to behold. Even the "show" elements that have survived seem vestigial now, as only the outer air vents rotate and the shifter no longer rises into your hand since the starter has migrated elsewhere. More concerning, though, is that the materials are just not up to the segment standards, and certainly not in keeping with a test car that has a sticker of $84,815. For instance, the old XF could be fitted with soft leather covering the doors and the broad, downward sloping dash. The new one has coarsely grained pleather. Then there's the matter of functionality. The rotary shifter in the original XF was certainly part of the "show" but it also freed up significant space on the center console for three cupholders/bins. The new one resides in an expanse of wood trim the size of a shift boot, leaving no room for that third cupholder/bin.