Amazing auto tech under development by Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is researching technologies that will offer drivers a 360 degrees view out of their vehicle, uninterrupted by the pillars that support the roof.

They plan to do this by embedding screens in the surface of each pillar inside the car which would carry live video feeds from cameras covering the angles outside the car usually obscured in the blind spots created by the A, B and C-pillars.

The 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen would increase the overall safety features of the car by making pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles all around the car visible. The system would automatically make the left or right-hand side pillars transparent when the driver indicates to change direction, when they move their head to look over their shoulder during an overtake manoeuvre, or as the vehicle approaches a junction.

According to Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover:
“Our ultimate aim is to reduce the potential for accidents and enhance the urban driving experience. The Jaguar Land Rover research team is developing this technology to improve visibility and to give the driver with the right information at the right time. If we can keep the driver’s eyes on the road ahead and present information in a non-distracting way, we can help drivers make better decisions in the most demanding and congested driving environments.”

The virtual windscreen would be connected to the Cloud and could present information ranging from petrol station prices to the number of parking spaces available, so drivers won’t have to look for this information themselves. The connected car could also enhance navigation by advising the driver to turn left or right at more visible landmarks, such as pubs or shops, rather than just road signs or street names.

Another interesting technology under development is their ‘Follow-Me Ghost Car Navigation’ which projects an image of a vehicle in front of the driver’s car for them to follow, turn by turn, to their destination.

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Snippets of a Study on the Future of Mobility

According to a recent Auto Study on the future of mobility conducted by New York based company MRY, via Whitman Insight Strategies, owning a car is still an important part of our day-to-day life.

This study surveyed 1,000 smartphone owners – 500 Millennials, 500 35+) and cover everything from consumers’ thoughts on the “connected car,” to which automakers are perceived to be the most innovative (and how that translates to sales).

The findings reveals that unsurprisingly that mobile phones matter a lot more to people, slightly less than cars. Among adults 35+: 94% say their cars are important vs 82% phones. But for Millennials, it’s 87% cars, 86% phones. Overall, SMS comes in at 72%, high def TV 55%, Facebook 47%, newspaper subscription 32%, and Twitter and Instagram around 20%.

Across ages, access to a car (90%) trumps helping others (77%), raising a family (73%), voting (68%), and being wealthy (43%). However, the youth just want to get rich as being wealthy is a FAR bigger deal for Millennials (53%) vs adults 35+ (33%) - one of the biggest value gaps MRY found in the study.

As for car ownership, 96% of surveyed individuals own or lease a vehicle, and 91% think that owning a car is still an important part of their day-to-day. Even 87% of the Millennial population, which is more aware of car-sharing services and other transportation options, agrees that owning a car is essential. This means that auto manufacturers need to keep people happy, because at least 40% of surveyed individuals are likely to use car-sharing services if offered in their communities.

To put things into perspective: new vehicle sales are around the 16 million mark, with the average sticker price north of $30,000 (See link). That’s $480 billion. A shift in attitude leads to changes in purchase behavior and even a 1% change could mean a $5 billion impact on sales.

However, car-sharing still has a long way to go. Even though Uber ranks above all of the major auto brands when measured against the intersection of innovation and personal connection, it is still a relatively unknown entity. Only 22% of surveyed individuals were familiar with Uber, falling behind Zip Car (33% familiar) and just ahead of Lyft (18% familiar).

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Lesser impact of automotive sponsored events

According to newly released results of the 2012 Automotive Marketing Communications
Study, carried out by Foresight Research, the automotive research specialists, it was found that:

• Overall, 10% of new vehicle buyers in 2011 attended an automotive sponsored event in the 12 months prior to vehicle purchase (down from 13% in 2010).
• Overall, 5% of all new vehicle buyers were highly influenced in their purchase decision by an auto sponsored event, down significantly from 12% in 2010 and 10% in 2009. Among event attendees, however, 24% were highly influenced by the event they attended.
• Purchase incentives, previously the most influential element of events were less available or less enticing resulting in lower event influence on purchases.
• Buyers who participated in a ride and drive were influenced by the event at a 42% higher rate than those who did not participate in a ride and drive.
• Interestingly, Mitsubishi, Audi, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Cadillac and Jeep buyers reported the highest purchase influence from events.

The study was based on interviews of 7,851 new vehicle buyers in the U.S.

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CESA 2012 interview : Rémi Bastien (Renault), second part

This is the second part of the interview of Rémi Bastien, Vice President for Research, Advanced Studies and Materials at Renault. The internal code name for this organisation is DREAM. So, let's dream of the future with our top expert.

"With this research organisation, we try to make our managers dream, and then our customers. More seriously, we drive half of the innovation at Renault. We are working on early stage on breakthrough innovations, whether it's on powertrain, or for the connected car.
To give an example, we have created the embedded charger on Zoe EV car, wich is called Cameleon and allows to charge more quickly. This device is compliant with power from 22 to 43 kW.
One of our challenges at the moment is to develop more affordable batteries, always for EVs. We expect to be ready in 2017, with next generation batteries which would allow the same range, from 150 to 200 km, but with a much lower price.
Another interesting topic is the driving assistance. Today, a car can park by itself. At low speed, the driver could handover to the car and let it manage acceleration, braking and changing lanes. All the components are ready and we have in France a remarkable  facility with VeDeCom Institute near Paris for further testings and developments. I think it should come earlier than people usually expect.
When innovation is mature enough, it's then transferred to production plans".

To be continued with statements on CESA congress.

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Hybrid cars showcased at Warwick Uni open day

Warwick University WMG showcases Hybrid car technology at their open day.

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Bad behaviour while driving is learnt from parents

According to a research by AXA car insurance, it was found that found that many young drivers will emulate the way their parents drive.

The study has found that young drivers who demonstrate bad behaviour while driving, such as hand gestures and swearing, and more dangerous cases including speeding and drink driving, have may actually have learnt these from their parents.

• 28% of those with parents who drink drive do so themselves.
• Young drivers with parents who drive aggressively are 50% more likely to swear, flash or beep aggressively at other drivers.
• Drivers whose parents have points on their licence or a ban are three times as likely to face the same penalties themselves.

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Elvin

Elvin the Electric Vehicle

ELVIN stands for Electric Vehicle with Interactive Noise and it is a utility vehicle which is used around the University of Warwick campus of patrol the car parks.

Electric vehicles are really quiet and the lack of sound has been identified as a safety issue. Tests are now being carried out at the University of Warwick by fitting the vehicles with the NoViSim's sound system to find out of drivers' and other road users reactions.

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Medical professionals are the most accident prone in the UK

A recent press release by the online price comparison site, Confused.com, totally changed my perception of the motorist profiles I have had all my life. Apparently those in the medical profession appeared most frequently in the top ten (50%) car insurance claims in the past 12 months (18th October 2009 and 18th October 2010).

This is surprising because they are supposed to be most aware of all professions when it comes to accidents and injuries.

The results of the research showed that GPs are the most hazardous drivers in the UK with 33% of claims made by them. They were followed by psychologists (30%), district nurses (30%), hospital doctors (29%) and dentists (27%)making a claim.

In what seems to be bizarre findings, 20-20 vision doesn't help as well with opticians making up 27% of those claiming for an incident in the last 12 months. They were closely followed by law abiding policeman who made up 26% of the claimants.

It was not surprising that high earners such as solicitors and accountants are also the most likely to make a claim, contributing to 65% of the top 20.

The safest drivers were actually the low income earners with car valeters being the least likely to make a claim with only 8% putting in the paperwork in the last 12 months.

Here is the full list of the Top 20 occupations that have claimed in an accident:

1. Doctor GP
2. Psychologist
3. District Nurse
4. Hospital Doctor
5. Solicitor
6. Chartered Accountant
7. Head Teacher
8. Dentist
9. Personnel Officer
10. Chartered Surveyor
11. Quantity Surveyor
12. Optician
13. Systems Manager
14. Police Officer
15. Financial Advisor
16. Computer Services Manager
17. Accountant Chartered
18. Pharmacist
19. Probation Officer
20. Local Government Officer

Top 20 occupations least likely to be involved in an accident

1. Car Valeter
2. Labourer
3. Van / Lorry / Fork Lift Truck Driver
4. Farm Worker
5. Scaffolder / Roofer
6. Construction Worker
7. Decorator / Painter / Plasterer
8. Road Worker
9. Coach Driver
10. Security Guard
11. Builder
12. Groundsmen
13. Mechanic
14. Carpet Fitter
15. Warehouse Employee
16. Bar Staff
17. Cleaner
18. Bakery Worker
19. Double Glazing Fitter
20. Factory Worker

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Play online Continental Tyres game and win PS3

Continental Tyres has just released a new online game called 'Test My Driving'. Test your driving skills and there are giveaways for the best scores, including a Sony Playstation 3 as the top prize.



Not related, but according to arecent survey conducted by Continental, people who pass their driving test on their second time are safer than those who pass first time. Going by this, I guess I am a safe driver because I passed my driving tests - both in Malaysia as well as in the UK, the second time round.

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Electric cars tested in the UK

The CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators) consortium is currently testing a total of 340 electric cars across the UK. This includes the  Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Jaguar Land Rover's _e electric/diesel hybrid, LTI’s TX4E taxis, Mercedes Benz/Smart FourTwo electric drive, Tata Indica Vista EV and the hydrogen-powered Microcab.

The Microcab

The test  seeks to find out how how practical these electric cars under real life conditions would be - this include how they are used and charging information. Recharging points will be provided by Birmingham and Coventry City Councils and Eon. Birmingham University’s hydrogen refuelling station will also be available.

Researchers from Aston University will be analysing the data generated.

Interestingly out of the total cars that will be tested for a year, 110 will be based in Birmingham and Coventry. 25 Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars were passed to test drivers in the West Midlands with the rest will be given to lucky drivers, specially selected by Coventry University researchers. Hope I am one of them.

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