Jaguar has unveiled radical new technology that can make the pillars of a car “transparent” to give the driver a 360-degree view outside.
The technology is called the 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen, and it offers drivers a transparent and un-obscured view around the vehicle. The system is designed to make all the pillars that hold up the roof transparent. To make this happen, Jaguar has embedded a screen on the interior surface of each pillar, which provides a live video feed from the cameras covering the respective angles outside the vehicle.
The system can track pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles that may be caught in a blind spot, making for a safer driving experience for everyone.
The technology is being further developed to create a special navigation feature called Follow-Me Ghost Navigation. This system projects an image of a vehicle in front of the driver for them to follow, turn by turn, to the requested destination.
Other spin-off features that could be developed from this technology include the ability for the 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen to be synced to a cloud that will contain a host of information pertinent to the driver’s every need. The system could display street markings, local businesses and information encompassing anything from gas prices to the amount of parking spots available in any given lot.
Unfortunately, there is no word yet as to when this technology is expected to make its way to any of Jaguar Land Rover’s production cars.
While we may not see this system anytime soon in the real world, we can at least marvel at it in Jaguar’s recent video. Feast your eyes: