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29 March 2024

Your car bonnet can vanish - while driving

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By Staff

In what it claims to be the world’s first Transparent Bonnet concept, carmaker Land Rover has used technology to unveil a ‘see-through’ augmented reality view of the terrain ahead, making car bonnets invisible.

The technology uses cameras located in the vehicle’s grille to transmit the feed to a Head-Up Display, effectively creating a ‘see-through’ view of the terrain through the bonnet and engine bay, breaking new ground in visual driver assistance.

In theory, it sounds so simple that it begs the question why no one thought of it before.

“Pioneering technology is being developed to give Land Rover drivers a digital vision of the terrain ahead by making the front of the car ‘virtually’ invisible,” the carmaker says in a media statement.

The technology, named Transparent Bonnet by its creators, enables a driver climbing a steep incline or manoeuvring in a confined space to see an augmented reality view capturing not only the terrain in front of the car but also the angle and position of the front wheels.

“We believe the next 25 years will be the most exciting and dynamic the automotive industry has ever experienced. There will be huge strides in environmental innovation, in safety and capability,” says Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology for Jaguar Land Rover.

“As our vehicles become more capable and offer increasing autonomy off-road, we will ensure the driver has the confidence to allow the car to continue to progress, over any terrain. We are developing new technologies including the Transparent Bonnet to give drivers an augmented view of reality to help them tackle anything from the toughest off-road route to the tight confines of an urban car park.”

Opening the doors to Jaguar Land Rover’s advanced research, the Discovery Vision Concept car is a design and technology showcase which will be unveiled in full at the New York International Auto Show on April 16, 2014.