DRIVE BY WIFI
Control a Defender by remote control
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Extricating your four-wheel drive from a mud or a tough rocky track could get a lot easier thanks to new technology for Jaguar Land Rover.
Land Rover’s upcoming new Defender could soon come with a remote-control option that allows owners to drive it at low speeds from outside the car.
Speaking at the reveal of the born-again model, chief product engineer Stuart Frith said the company was working on the remote control technology, admitting it was “a good idea”.
“The car is capable of being able to do that in terms of its architecture,” said Frith. “The car is technology-ready for that.”
Land Rover has already said it is working to leverage the overthe-air software functionality of the upcoming 2020 Defender to add or tweak features where appropriate.
But there would also be hardware involved.
Frith said such remote-control technology would rely on the latest generation Activity Key, which owners wear like a watch to
THE TECHNOLOGY WOULD RELY ON THE LATEST GENERATION ACTIVITY KEY.
lock and unlock the car.
“We’ve got as far as understanding how to do it and we’ve run prototypes as well,” he said, adding that the key could be used to verify the owner is within sight of the vehicle and in control.
Being able to stand alongside the car could help with tricky offroad manoeuvres — such as getting over large rocks or logs — by allowing the driver to see if any parts of the bodywork are likely to scrape and check wheel placement to make sure you’re not driving into something that could get you stuck.
Hardcore off-roaders often use spotters outside the car to help with those trickier situations.
“If you’re in a tight spot and you’re on your own, you can get out of the car and spot it yourself,” Frith said.
The challenge for now is getting authorities around the world to approve the radical remotecontrol technology.
Frith says that although some cars on sale allow basic remote driving into or out of a parking spot, there are issues around allowing broader remote control, including steering.
“The legislation is not ready yet for us to do that,” he said, adding that the company was discussing concerns with authorities.
That’s in line with talks with regulatory authorities regarding driver assistance and semiautonomous functionality, all of which is advancing quickly.