Jaguar Land Rover is pioneering software that will reduce motion sickness by adapting the driving style of future autonomous vehicles.
During the first phase of the project, a personalised ‘wellness score’ was developed which could reduce the impact of motion sickness by up to 60%. Engineers at a specialist software engineering facility in Shannon, Ireland, have now implemented that score into self driving software.
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The intelligent software combines 20,000 real world and virtually simulated test miles to calculate a set of parameters for driving dynamics to be rated against. Advanced machine learning then ensures the car can optimise its driving style based on data gathered from every mile driven by the autonomous fleet.
This technology can then be used to teach each vehicle how to drive autonomously while maintaining the individual characteristics of each model.
Motion sickness, which affects more than 70% of people, is often caused when the eyes observe information different from that sensed by the inner ear, skin or body – commonly when reading on long journeys in a vehicle. Using the new system, acceleration, braking and lane positioning – all contributory factors to motion sickness – can be optimised to avoid inducing nausea in passengers.
As a result of the project, engineers are now able to develop more refined advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) features such as adaptive cruise control and lane monitoring systems.
Steve Iley, JLR chief medical officer, said: “Mobility is rapidly changing, and we will need to harness the power of self-driving vehicles to achieve our goal of zero accidents and zero congestion. Solving the problem of motion sickness in driverless cars is the key to unlocking the huge potential of this technology for passengers, who will be able to use the travelling time for reading, working or relaxing.”
