Jaguar Land Rover is developing a range of new technologies that use colours, sounds and touch to alert drivers to potential hazards, preventing accidents involving bicycles and motorbikes.
The Bike Sense system includes car-mounted sensors that will detect when a bicycle or motorbike is approaching, then make the driver aware of the potential hazard before it is visible.
Rather than using a warning icon or sound, which takes time to process, Bike Sense makes use of instinctive human reactions using lights and sounds associated with potential danger – for instance, the audio system will sound a bicycle bell or motorbike horn through the speaker nearest a vehicle to identify its direction.
If a bike or motorcycle is overtaking or coming past on the inside, the top of the car seat will extend to ‘tap’ the driver on the appropriate shoulder. As the cyclist gets closer, LED lights on the windowsills, dashboard and windscreen pillars will glow amber and then red. On a busy urban street, the system could intelligently prioritise the nearest hazard.
Bike Sense would also be able to identify an oncoming pedestrian or cyclist obscured by a stationary vehicle. If the driver ignores the warnings the system could make the accelerator pedal vibrate or feel stiff. Passengers opening doors could also be warned about approaching cyclists, motorbikes or cars through sound and light inside the vehicle.
‘It could be ready within 5-10 years as a fully functional system and we are working with suppliers to identify and develop the technology to help make this a reality,’ said Lee Skrypchuk, human machine interface technical specialist at JLR. ‘Some aspects may be possible to get to market sooner. We are working on a demonstrator vehicle with the haptic pedals at the moment, for example.’
Why is Jaguar building cars with such poor visibilty that these gimmicks are needed?
This is a really good idea, but being a cyclist and car driver, what cars, or should I say drivers really need is the ability to dip their headlights automatically when oncoming traffic is sensed as the amount of vehicles that have blinded me on the way to work and back is astounding!!!
Do these people not appreciate how dangerous it is or do they just not care?
Very sensible system to develop and sooner the better
Great idea. Totally disagree with “Anonymous” that these are gimmicks. Most cars already have mirrors(?) yet I nearly got taken off a bike at the end of last year because a stupid **%*^ climbing out of a car didn’t bother to look first. Also folk on the back seats don’t have mirrors so anything loud and audible to draw their attention can only be a good thing. Well done JLR!
Only last week I was knocked of my bike into an oncoming car due to an inattentive person opening their car door as I passed. I was extremely lucky not getting seriously hurt.
Can I suggest for consideration that in a situation of an approaching bike/cycle the JLR type sensors temporarily disable the door latch mechanism thus preventing the car door from being opened.
What a good idea, so when idiot cyclists weave in front of cars, or squeeze up the inside in a traffic queue, they won’t be hurt. As for the comment about motorists dipping their lights, how many times have I been blinded by high intensity flashing cycle lights.
I agree with Anonymous 8:22 re. bright bike lights. I actually think this is more of an issue for other cyclists. (I am a daily cyclist myself) On a bike path I regularly get blinded by other cyclists with unnecessarily bright lights whose unfocused beam is usually horizontal or pointing slightly upwards rather slightly down at the road, like car headlights. The result is to blind oncoming cyclists and pedestrians. The brightness and angle of car lights is well organised, so why not apply some common sense to bike lights? Either way, good work JLR for this kind of joined-up thinking.