Movie Tech: Drive The New Land Rover Discovery Vision With Your Smart Phone
I’ve written bout some incredible cars, Ferrari’s with energy force fields, cars that can shape shift, even cars that can drive & repair themselves, but this Land Rover Discovery Concept might take the crown.
-Stephen Brown Lead Editor, Digital Afro
Advances in car technology are moving a light speed. Ideas and concepts that seemed implausible or even fantasy, have quickly evolved into reality. The Discovery Vision Concept, which is being shown at this week’s New York motor show, previews how Land Rover is taking technological features and design to the next level now, and well into the future.
First among these awesome features is the ability to control the vehicle at very low speeds via a smartphone. Land Rover knows its buyers can be in all types of terrain, so the idea is if the vehicle is stuck, the driver can step out and navigate the vehicle to a clearing. Making the situation safer for the driver and easier to visually see where obstacles are.
We did see this in the 1997 James Bond Film Tomorrow Never Dies where Bond hurls himself out of danger by driving his 750IL BMW with his cell phone. Although not as extreme as this, the concept of controlling Discovery with your smartphone is ingenious and puts Land Rover way, way ahead of the competition as far as concepts go.
There’s also Transparent Bonnet technology, which allows the driver to “see” under the car via a Head-Up display on the windscreen, plus infrared sensors in the foglights that scan the ground ahead, map the terrain and display the imagery on a screen inside the car.
The idea is that the glass itself can display imagery, like a computer screen, while otherwise being completely transparent. This means that, working in conjunction with eye-tracking sensors, it can display information on surroundings based on what the occupants of the vehicle are looking at. Gaze at a passing landmark, for example, and the vehicle can tell you what it is and how to get there. Swiping the window can then send this information to a smartphone or tablet.
*The panoramic sunroof, meanwhile, can be used to display screensavers, such as a starry night sky. And speaking of night, the Discovery Vision Concept features headlights with laser diodes and LEDs, and will automatically dip just the relevant part of the light when they sense oncoming traffic.The aim, says Land Rover, is to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic while maintaining visibility for the driver.
The Land Rover Discovery Vision Concept is making its debut at this week’s New York motor show. Land Rover is yet to confirm which elements of the technology we are likely to see on the production version of the new Discovery or Freelander replacement, which will go on sale in 2015.
Watch Just Some Of The Incredible Features Below
