Is this the answer to a caravan owner’s prayer?
FAST gaining a reputation as the ‘see-through’ specialist, Land Rover is developing a concept that would remove the blind spot created when towing a caravan or trailer.
The ‘Transparent Trailer’ trailer allows the driver to better see vehicles coming up behind and also builds driver confidence by improving visibility while manoeuvring.
The prototype system fitted to a Range Rover combines the video feed from the vehicle’s existing reversing camera with a video from a digital wireless camera placed on the rear of the trailer or caravan. The two video feeds are combined to make the trailer behind appear see-through.
The live video feed appears in the central rear-view mirror.
It works in a similar way to the ‘transparent bonnet’ experimental concept that Land Rover announced last year, which allows drivers to effectively ‘see through’ the nose of the car, revealing hidden obstacles when offroading.
In this case the augmented-reality video feed is presented as a Head-Up Display on the windscreen.
The transparent view technologies give drivers an augmented view of reality to help them tackle anything from the toughest offroad route to the tight confines of an urban car park, says Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology at Jaguar Land Rover.
As part of its mission to reduce the stress of towing, Land Rover is also experimenting with a concept called Cargo Sense, an in-car trailer monitoring system that optimises cargo loading for safer towing.
It combines a remote video camera inside the trailer and a mat of pressure sensors on the floor, that both link wirelessly to the tow vehicle.
As well as helping you to load cargo evenly and uniformly, the pressure sensitive mat detects if your load is moving around the trailer in an unexpected or abnormal way while travelling.
The system sends a ‘Check Cargo’ warning to the dashboard to alert the driver to an issue with the cargo before it becomes serious.
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