What's this about?

Jaguar Land Rover is working on technologies to improve safety by making parts of its cars virtually invisible. The '360 Virtual Urban Windscreen' uses screens embedded in the pillars to eliminate blind spots. JLR is also looking at projecting a 'ghost car' on the road to provide navigation instructions without diverting the driver's attention away from the road. Both features are part of a suite of concept technologies under development to reduce the potential for accidents.

How does it work?

A network of cameras covers the normal blind spots and is linked to screens within the A-, B- and C-pillars. Each screen would activate in response to certain situations such as approaching a junction or switching on the indicators. To further enhance safety the 'transparent' pillars can be combined with an advanced head-up display; working together the system could project a 'halo' to highlight the movement of other road users.

Jaguar Land Rover even talks about linking the 360 Virtual Windscreen to the Cloud to relay a variety of other information. Fuel prices and the number of free parking spaces nearby could be displayed as well as navigation instructions using local landmarks rather than street names.

What about the ghost car?

Another way to convey navigation instructions is to give the driver a car to follow. The 'Follow-Me Ghost Car Navigation' is a feature of the head-up display, leading the way through every turn. Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover, said: "Driving on city streets can be a stressful experience, but imagine being able to drive across town without having to look at road signs, or be distracted trying to locate a parking space as you drive by. We want to present all of this information on a Heads-Up Display in the driver's eye-line, so the driver doesn't have to seek it out for themselves and take their eyes off the road ahead."