Arrrrgh!!!! My caravan is gone! It was there a second ago!

No, don't worry. Try not to panic. It's still there. It's just that you're using Land Rover's new experimental 'transparent trailer' system. It cleverly uses the car's surround camera system, combined with a remote camera placed in the back of the trailer or caravan you're towing, to take away the blind spots normally created when you're towing.

Not only are the images used a proper, live feed, but the system also transmits the view from the trailer-mounted rear-facing camera to the car's rear view mirror. When reversing, the feed adds in specially calibrated guide-lines to help you into a space - clever stuff.

Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover, said: "When you are overtaking it is instinctive to check your mirrors, but if you are towing your vision is often restricted with large blind spots. Our Transparent Trailer project is researching how we could offer a view out of the vehicle unrestricted by your trailer, no matter what its size or shape. Our prototype system offers a very high quality video image with no distortion of other cars or obstructions. This means the driver would have exactly the right information to make safe and effective decisions when driving or manoeuvring, making towing safer and less stressful."

But wait, there's more. Land Rover is also developing a new system called Cargo Sense. It uses a camera, pressure sensitive mats and various other sensors to keep an eye on whatever you're carrying in a trailer or horse box. The system can detect if a load, or a horse, is moving about in ways it shouldn't and, in the case of a horse, can detect if the animal is becoming distressed. It also works through a smartphone app so that you can keep an eye on things while you're away from the car.

Dr Epple added: "Many of our customers tow valuable cargoes for business and pleasure, so we are researching a range of technologies that would enhance the towing experience and make it safer - for the driver and even their horses. A permanent video feed through to the dashboard from the trailer has the potential to distract the driver from the road ahead. Instead, we are developing a more intelligent system that is able to detect a problem with the horse in the trailer and warn the driver. The video is then available for owners to view the inside of the trailer and support a decision to pull over and check the horse."

Animal physiologist Dr Emma Punt will work with the British Animal Rescue and Trauma Care Association (BARTA) and the Royal Veterinary College on a research project to better understand horse stress and distress during travel and to see how Jaguar Land Rover's Cargo Sense technology could be used to indicate horse distress.

As well as testing a range of devices that measure the animal's physical wellbeing inside a trailer, Dr Punt will validate how a pressure sensor mat could identify and locate hoof pressure to highlight if the horse has moved unexpectedly.

Dr Punt said: "Whether it is to help prevent road accidents and injuries to horse and handler, or even to simply ensure your horse arrives at its destination stress free, I'm sure every owner would like to learn how to reduce stress for their horse during travel.

"Gaining a better understanding of the environment inside the trailer, and the horse's reaction to it, would make the animal more comfortable during travel and ensure the horse is capable of performing to the best of its ability, whether it's at a local competition, or a major international event like the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials."