Skip to main content

Jaguar wants to build intelligent vehicles that learn your routine and adapt

JLR Self Learning Car
Cutting-edge technology is being pioneered by researchers at Jaguar Land Rover to develop a truly intelligent self-learning vehicle that will offer a completely personalized driving experience and help prevent accidents by reducing driver distraction. Image used with permission by copyright holder
Jaguar Land Rover is no stranger to cutting-edge technology. Whether its video game-inspired windscreens, Ingenium engines, or advanced smartphone connectivity, the luxury carmaker has some impressive marks on its resume.

What the British firm is planning next, however, will be without a doubt its most impressive achievement yet.

Land Rover has set out to develop a truly intelligent, self-learning vehicle that continuously adapts based on driver habits, driving style, and convenience preferences.

An artificially intelligent car may sound like the beginning of a Terminator film, but its design is based off two main tenants: safety and convenience.

“The aim of our self-learning technology is to minimize driver distraction, which will help reduce the risk of accidents,” says Dr. Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology for Jaguar Land Rover. “Presenting the driver with information just at the right time whilst driving will reduce both cognitive distraction and the need for the driver to look away from the road to scroll through phone lists, or adjust mirrors, temperature or seat functions while on the road.”

So what exactly can an A.I.-powered Land Rover do? Let’s go through a typical day in a self-learning luxury vehicle.

It’s a brisk winter morning in Yorkshire, and you’ve just finished your hot buttered toast to start the morning. It’s time to head into town, but you dread the sting of the harsh elements outside. Luckily, your Land Rover’s ‘Smart Assistant’ has already predicted your time of departure based on your weekly routine, and has set the cabin to your preferred temperature.

The car is linked to your smartphone, of course, so it sends you a helpful reminder of the coming day’s events: little Jimmy’s football practice (don’t forget the helmet), a financial meeting at noon, and a dinner date after work (don’t forget the flowers).

Your personalized keyfob is detected as you come outside, and the Land Rover adjusts seat position, mirror settings, and entertainment preferences before you even get inside. Impressed yet? We’re just getting started.

Your car knows exactly where you’re going on this Tuesday morning, so its navigation loads the best route to Jimmy’s football camp, and tunes to the combined entertainment settings of both occupants. Keep in mind that this is all happening without any driver input.

When Jimmy exits the vehicle, the car senses it and automatically switches back to your personal preferences. It even increases the volume since there’s no conversation to overpower.

While at work, your Land Rover monitors traffic levels and suggests the best departure time to get home promptly. If you’re running late, it’ll notify your people for you. Forgot to check the gas gauge? No worries, your car will let you know and map the best course to your preferred fueling station.

Jaguar Land Rover’s new technology will even predict whom you’ll call in a certain situation. If you’re in an accident, insurance companies, police, and close family members are a given, but what about when your high school sweetheart’s song comes on? Does it prompt the awkward call for you?

Joking aside, when you have a car that is continuously learning, adjusting, and plotting – I mean – planning its next trip, you’re ensured a comfortable, safe, and enjoyable driving experience.

“Up until now most self-learning car research has only focused on traffic or navigation prediction,” continues Epple. “We want to take this a significant step further and our new learning algorithm means information learned about you will deliver a completely personalized driving experience and enhance driving pleasure.”

Editors' Recommendations

Andrew Hard
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…
Jaguar’s Smart Wallet rewards drivers for reporting traffic jams and potholes
Land Rover Smart Wallet

Increased connectivity inevitably makes cars more expensive by adding a degree of complexity. Jaguar-Land Rover is testing an intriguing feature that promises to let buyers recoup at least some of their investment by allowing their car to record important data and send it back to the automaker or to select third-party companies. It's part of an effort to mine as much real-time, real-world data as possible.

Still in the pilot phase, Jaguar's Smart Wallet technology aims to fight privacy anxiety by rewarding drivers who allow their cars to detect traffic jams, weather conditions, and even potholes. The firm is using its F-Pace and the Range Rover Velar made by sister company Land Rover to test the technology in and around its software engineering center in Shannon, Ireland.

Read more
Future Jaguar Land Rover models could help stop the spread of superbugs
2020 Jaguar F-Type Checkered Flag Limited Edition

Being in the car puts a barrier between you and the outside world, but germs and bugs can still slip in through the air. Jaguar Land Rover wants to kill them off before they can even get to the cabin. The company put forward a concept that would use ventilation systems to neutralize superbugs and pathogens that cause infections like the flu and the common cold.

The idea put forth by Jaguar Land Rover would equip future vehicles with ultraviolet light technology (UV-C). It's the same kind that has been used by the medical community for more than 70 years. UV-C is utilized to disinfect water by filtering air and sterilizing surfaces. It uses wavelengths of light between 200 and 280 nanometers to accomplish this, which disrupts the DNA of different pathogens and leaves them unable to perform their most basic cellular functions.

Read more
Jaguar’s V2X technology will keep you from getting stuck at red lights
jaguar land rover v2x red lights crophero jaguarglosa 1200x462

We've all been faced with the challenging decision of what to do when we're driving at full speed and the stop light turns yellow. Do you slam on the brakes or do you keep going? Those types of situations aren't just tough, split-second calls—they can also be potentially dangerous for you, your car, and other drivers. Jaguar Land Rover wants to put an end to those situations, and it is working on the technology make sure you never get stuck skidding to a red light again.

The British car manufacturer has developed what it calls the Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory, or GLOSA. The system uses vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) technology to communicate with traffic lights and gather information about when the light will change. As you drive toward the intersection, GLOSA will inform you just how fast you need to drive in order to avoid getting stuck at the light -- or worse, getting stuck in between and having to make a dangerous decision.

Read more