Self-driving Range Rovers and Jaguars of the future ‘will be able to tell when passengers get car sick and change driving style to make them feel better’
- Jaguar Land Rover says its self-driving cars of the future will prevent nausea
- Moderating driving style by taking corners more smoothly could mitigate illness
- The manufacturer says new motion technology will reduce car sickness by 60%
Vehicles that can tell if passengers are likely to feel unwell could make car sickness a thing of the past.
According to Jaguar Land Rover, its self-driving Range Rovers and Jaguars of the future will be able to adjust the car’s settings to prevent nausea.
This could be achieved by moderating the driving style – for example, by taking corners more smoothly or by turning on the voice commands on the sat nav to warn passengers if it is about to turn left or right.
Cabin settings would also be adjusted. The Coventry-based luxury car manufacturer says motion sickness affects more than 70 per cent of people globally and that its pioneering motion technology will be able to reduce car sickness by 60 per cent.
According to Jaguar Land Rover, its self-driving Range Rovers and Jaguars of the future will be able to adjust the car’s settings to prevent nausea (file image)
The brains behind this is Jaguar Land Rover veteran engineer Spencer Salter.
He has helped create an algorithm that generates a ‘wellness score’ for passengers using biometric sensors to record physiological signals that indicate they are getting sick.
In future self-driving cars, passengers would use the sensors once to record their personal score. The firm has already collected 15,000 miles of motion sickness data from passengers in this way.
It said this data will be fed into a car so it can adjust the driving and cabin settings plus seating positions to help stop a passenger from becoming nauseous.
Those who took part in the tests carried out tasks – such as checking emails – which can make some people feel unwell during a car journey.
Mr Salter said little has been known about the causes of car sickness and how to mitigate them.
He added: ‘As we move towards an autonomous future where occupants will have more time to either work, read or relax on longer journeys, it’s important we develop vehicles that can adapt to reduce the effects of motion sickness in a way that’s tailored to each passenger.’
This could be achieved by moderating the driving style – for example, by taking corners more smoothly or by turning on the voice commands on the sat nav to warn passengers if it is about to turn left or right