Jaguar Land Rover has unveiled a Remote Control Range Rover Sport research vehicle as part of its efforts to develop various autonomous driving technologies.

The vehicle can be controlled by the driver from outside the car, using a smartphone app which controls steering, accelerator and brakes as well as changing from high and low range, the company said.

This feature can be used by drivers to manoeuvre their car out of challenging situations safely, or even to negotiate difficult off-road terrain. The driver can also use the feature to reverse their car out of a tight parking spot.

By walking alongside the car, the driver could continually check ramp, approach and departure angles and allow precise positioning of the vehicle when rock crawling. It could also be an invaluable aid when the vehicle is fording a stream or traversing sections made slippery by mud or snow, it said.

Jaguar Land Rover's autonomous driving prototypes also include the ‘Multi-Point Turn’ Range Rover Sport, which will perform an autonomous 180-degree turn in the road.

This would allow the car to extricate itself from dead end roads or congested car parks as well as perform the three-point turn on a busy street or car park.

The system uses sensors to assess available space and to avoid pedestrians, vehicles and other objects. It takes over gear selection, steering, braking and acceleration to make as many forward and backwards movements as necessary to achieve the manoeuvre.

The research team is working on a system to scan the environment around the car and inform the driver whether it is safe to perform the turning manoeuvre. The driver then confirms the manoeuvre and the car would move forward until its path is blocked. It then selects reverse and uses the steering, throttle and brakes to do the same again. It repeats this as many times as required until it is facing in the opposite direction.

Dr Wolfgang Epple, director of research and technology, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Getting a car out of a tricky parking manoeuvre can be a stressful experience for any driver. A Remote Control car, or a vehicle that can autonomously turn in the road, demonstrates how we could use these new technologies to reduce the tedious parts of driving and improve road safety.

“Research into technologies like these won’t only help us deliver an autonomous car. They will help make real driving safer and more enjoyable. The same sensors and systems that will help an autonomous car make the right decisions, will assist the driver and enhance the experience to help prevent accidents. Autonomous car technologies will not take away the fun of driving.”

Jaguar Land Rover currently has a research programme to develop sensors which will make autonomous cars viable in a range of driving environments and weather conditions.

Creating a car capable of functioning autonomously in all situations requires a fusion of sensors with different attributes including radar, LIDAR, cameras, ultra-sonics and structured light technology. Each of these is needed to enable an autonomous car to function in the real world and to ensure the car can make safe and accurate decisions anywhere. – TradeArabia News Service