Video: Jaguar Land Rover bring you tech to spot motorcyclists on the road

Team OD Updated: January 20, 2015, 09:40 PM IST

A driver has a limited view of the road from where s/he sits. There are blind spots which make it difficult for the driver to notice pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycle riders. There could be a motorcyclist coming your way around a bend, who you may fail to see. Or there could be a cyclist who is about to come alongside the car as you are about to open the door. Often, accidents occur when drivers fail to spot these hazards.

So, in order to alert the driver and avoid mishaps, Jaguar Land Rover is developing a new set of technologies that will use sight, sound and touch to notify the driver about an oncoming hazard. The car is fitted with sensors all around which scan the surroundings and identify cyclists and motorcyclists. So when a bicycle is about to pass the car or a motorcycle is about ride by, the car's speakers corresponding to the direction of approach will sound a bicycle bell or motorcycle horn. When a motorcyclist is coming up from say, behind the car and is set to overtake the vehicle from the right, the top part of the driver's seat will pat the right shoulder of the driver, making the driver instinctively look over the right shoulder. In another situation, if a driver is about to overtake a large vehicle like a truck, which obscures the driver's vision and if a pedestrian or vehicle is about to cross, the accelerator pedal vibrates or becomes stiff, making the driver aware of the road users around him or her.

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With Bike Sense, the car is also fitted with a matrix of LED lights that wrap around the front window sill, windscreen pillar and dashboard, which glow in a shade of amber and progress to deep red as a cyclist or motorcyclist approaches and goes past. This indication again, is relative to the direction of the approaching rider.Also, when you are about to alight from the car and a cyclist is about to ride past, Bike Sense will make the door handle vibrate along with lighting up the LEDs around the handle and window sill, preventing the driver from opening the door into the path of the approaching rider.

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Dr Wolfgang Epple, director of research and technology, Jaguar Land Rover, said, "By engaging the instincts, Bike Sense has the potential to bridge the gap between the safety and hazard detection systems in the car and the driver and their passengers." He also added that," This could reduce the risk of accidents with all road users by increasing the speed of response and ensuring the correct action is taken to prevent the accident from happening."

Watch this technology in action here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rw3Cia9WZ0&feature=youtu.be&w=586&h=340]

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Jaguar Land-Rover reveals tech to enhance driver's vision and aid navigation

JLR bike sense

Jaguar Land Rover reveals its 'Bike Sense' research, which will tap the driver on the shoulder and ring a bicycle bell inside the car to help prevent accidents involving bicycles and motorbikes With nearly 19,000 cyclists killed or injured on UK roads every year, Jaguar Land Rover researchers are identifying the best warning colours and sounds that will trigger an instinctive response from the driver to prevent accidents Door handles will 'buzz' the driver's hand to prevent doors being opened into the path of bikes The accelerator pedal will vibrate if moving the car would cause an accident 'Bike Sense' is a concept technology that is being developed at Jaguar Land Rover's Advanced Research Centre in the UK Whitley, UK: Jaguar Land Rover is developing a range of new technologies that would use colours, sounds and touch inside the car to alert drivers to potential hazards and prevent accidents involving bicycles and motorbikes. Sensors on the car will detect when another road user is approaching and identify it as bicycle or motorbike. Bike Sense will then make the driver aware of the potential hazard before the driver sees it. But rather than using a generic warning icon or sound, which takes time for the driver's brain to process, Bike Sense uses lights and sounds that the driver will instinctively associate with the potential danger. To help the driver understand where the bike is in relation to their car, the audio system will make it sound as if a bicycle bell or motorbike horn is coming through the speaker nearest the bike, so the driver immediately understands the direction the cyclist is coming from. If a bicycle or motorbike is coming up the road behind the car, Bike Sense will detect if it is overtaking or coming past the vehicle on the inside, and the top of the car seat will extend to 'tap' the driver on the left or right shoulder. The idea is that the driver will then instinctively look over that shoulder to identify the potential hazard. As the cyclist gets closer to the car, a matrix of LED lights on the window sills, dashboard and windscreen pillars will glow amber and then red as the bike approaches. The movement of these red and amber lights across these surfaces will also highlight the direction the bike is taking. Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover, said: "Human beings have developed an instinctive awareness of danger over thousands of years. Certain colours like red and yellow will trigger an immediate response, while everyone recognises the sound of a bicycle bell. "Bike Sense takes us beyond the current technologies of hazard indicators and icons in wing mirrors, to optimising the location of light, sound and touch to enhance this intuition. This creates warnings that allow a faster cognitive reaction as they engage the brain's instinctive responses. If you see the dashboard glowing red in your peripheral vision, you will be drawn to it and understand straight away that another road user is approaching that part of your vehicle." If a group of cyclists, motorbikes or pedestrians were moving around the car on a busy urban street, the system would intelligently prioritise the nearest hazards so the driver would not be overwhelmed or distracted with light or sound. Bike Sense would also be able to identify hazards that the driver cannot see. If a pedestrian or cyclist is crossing the road, and they are obscured by a stationary vehicle for example, the car's sensors will detect this and draw the driver's attention to the hazard using directional light and sound. If the driver ignores the warnings and presses the accelerator, Bike Sense will make the accelerator pedal vibrate or feel stiff, so the driver instinctively knows not to move the car forwards until the hazard has been avoided. Bike Sense will also help prevent vehicle doors being opened into the path of bikes when the vehicle is parked. Bike Sense would warn all passengers of an approaching cyclist, motorbike or car through sound and light inside the vehicle. If any passenger continues to open the door, the door handle will light up, vibrate and buzz to alert them to the danger. "By engaging the instincts, Bike Sense has the potential to bridge the gap between the safety and hazard detection systems in the car and the driver and their passengers," added Dr Epple. "This could reduce the risk of accidents with all road users by increasing the speed of response and ensuring the correct action is taken to prevent an accident happening."