Jaguar Land Rover develops contactless touchscreen to help fight viruses

Jaguar Land Rover and the University of Cambridge have collectively developed a new contactless touchscreen technology that is said to make the driving safer by eliminating the need to look at the screen and helping the driver concentrate better on the road. This technology is also claimed to help reduce the spread of bacteria and viruses in a post Covid-19 world.

The new contactless touchscreen technology has been named ‛Predictive Touch’ and it employs artificial intelligence and sensors which predict the user's intended target over the screen. The company claims that features such as satellite navigation, temperature controls, entertainment setting and more can be accessed without touching a button.

As per official claims, the lab-tests and on-road trials have showed that the 'Predictive Touch' technology can help reduce a user’s touchscreen interaction effort and time by up to 50%, alongside limiting the spread of bacteria and viruses.

This system is part of the Jaguar Land Rover’s Destination Zero vision and has been developed with engineers at the University of Cambridge.

Lee Skrypchuk, Human Machine Interface Technical Specialist, at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “As countries around the world exit lockdown, we notice how many everyday consumer transactions are conducted using touchscreens: railway or cinema tickets, ATMs, airport check-ins and supermarket self-service checkouts, as well as many industrial and manufacturing applications. Predictive Touch technology eliminates the need to touch an interactive display and could therefore reduce the risk of spreading bacteria or viruses on surfaces."

The new 'Predictive Touch' technology will join the list of other innovative features by Jaguar Land Rover such as Driver Condition Monitor, engine noise cancellation and cabin air ionisation with PM 2.5 filtration to capture ultrafine particles and allergens, that have been developed keeping the passenger safety and well-being in mind.

Skrypchuk added,“The technology also offers us the chance to make vehicles safer by reducing the cognitive load on drivers and increasing the amount of time they can spend focused on the road ahead. This is a key part of our Destination Zero journey."