Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) says it is developing software that will reduce motion sickness by adapting the driving style of future autonomous vehicles, “to continue to provide our customers with the most refined and comfortable ride possible.”
The company is currently testing technology that teaches Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles to how to drive autonomously and optimise its driving style based on data gathered from every mile driven by its autonomous fleet across 20,000 real-world and virtually-simulated test miles.
Work on reducing motion sickness was initiated during the first phase of the project with a personalised ‘wellness score’ developed to target reducing the impact of motion sickness by up to 60%.
Experts at Jaguar Land Rover’s specialist software engineering facility in Shannon have now implemented that score into self-driving software, explained JLR.
The intelligent software combines the test miles to calculate a set of parameters for driving dynamics to be rated against. According to JLR, advanced machine learning then ensures the car can optimise its driving style based on data gathered from every mile driven by the autonomous fleet.
The system even maintains the individual characteristics of each model, “whether that’s the thoroughbred performance of a Jaguar or the legendary capability of a Land Rover. All helping Jaguar Land Rover’s continued development of the ultimate cabin experience in an autonomous, electric and connected future.”
According to JLR, motion sickness, affects more than 70% of people. It is typically caused when the eyes observe information different from that sensed by the inner ear, skin or body – commonly when reading on long journeys in a vehicle.
“Using the new system, acceleration, braking and lane positioning – all contributory factors to motion sickness – can be optimised to avoid inducing nausea in passengers,” said JLR.
“As a result of the project, engineers are now able to develop more refined advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) features on future Jaguar and Land Rover models, such as adaptive cruise control and lane monitoring systems. The in-depth knowledge is helping Jaguar Land Rover design and manufacture capable and advanced vehicles, both now and in the future.”
Dr Steve Iley, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Medical Officer, added: “Mobility is rapidly changing, and we will need to harness the power of self-driving vehicles to achieve our goal of zero accidents and zero congestion. Solving the problem of motion sickness in driverless cars is the key to unlocking the huge potential of this technology for passengers, who will be able to use the travelling time for reading, working or relaxing.”
