June 17, 2015
We live in a brave new world of autonomous automobiles equipped with remote parking and self-driving capabilities. So it only seems natural that an automaker would manufacture a remote-controlled Land Rover that can be operated via an iPhone app. The UK-based automaker Jaguar Land Rover is testing its smartphone app that allows drivers to autonomously control their SUV without actually being inside it. Users of the remote-control Land Rover app can manipulate the vehicle’s steering, braking and acceleration functions, as well as allow them to walk alongside the Land Rover while it is in motion. Jaguar Land Rover’s autonomous control prototype is capable of all-purpose use. For instance, app users can maneuver the Land Rover in rural areas with rugged or steep terrain. Conversely, the remote control feature is subtle enough to negotiate tight parking spaces in urban environments. At this stage, there are some limitations with the remote-controlled Land Rover prototype. Users can walk alongside their Land Rover at a maximum speed of 4 miles per hour. Moreover, the app’s maximum range is 10 meters, or 32 feet—if users are either too close or too far to the SUV, the app will cease to work. While this technology is years from being perfected, Wolfgang Epple, Jaguar Land Rover director of research and technology, believes that the industry-wide shift toward autonomous driving will be beneficial in the long run. However, Epple distinguishes his pilot program from Google’s driverless car project by asserting that “the driver is always the focus.” Jaguar Land Rover hopes to perfect the remote-control Land Rover technology by 2020. In addition to unveiling its remote-controlled Land Rover technology at the JLR Technology Conference in Gaydon, the automaker is also working on a pothole detection system. To see a video demo of the remote-controlled Land Rover in action, check out the video below: