̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - automotive

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� engineer backed by Formula 1 star Sir Lewis Hamilton

sb726 — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 13:53:00 +0000

Chris Tagnon is the first Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� student to be awarded a Masters in Motorsport scholarship.

AI-based ‘no-touch touchscreen’ could reduce risk of pathogen spread from surfaces

sc604 — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 05:00:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��patented technology, known as ‘predictive touch’, was developed by engineers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge as part of a research collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover. It uses a combination of artificial intelligence and sensor technology to predict a user’s intended target on touchscreens and other interactive displays or control panels, selecting the correct item before the user’s hand reaches the display.

More and more passenger cars have touchscreen technology to control entertainment, navigation or temperature control systems. However, users can often miss the correct item – for example due to acceleration or vibrations from road conditions – and have to reselect, meaning that their attention is taken off the road, increasing the risk of an accident.

In lab-based tests, driving simulators and road-based trials, the predictive touch technology was able to reduce interaction effort and time by up to 50% due to its ability to predict the user’s intended target with high accuracy early in the pointing task.

As lockdown restrictions around the world continue to ease, the researchers say the technology could also be useful in a post-COVID-19 world. Many everyday consumer transactions are conducted using touchscreens: ticketing at rail stations or cinemas, ATMs, check-in kiosks at airports, self-service checkouts in supermarkets, as well as many industrial and manufacturing applications. Eliminating the need to actually touch a touchscreen or other interactive display could reduce the risk of spreading pathogens – such as the common cold, influenza or even coronavirus – from surfaces.

In addition, the technology could also be incorporated into smartphones, and could be useful while walking or jogging, allowing users to easily and accurately select items without the need for any physical contact. It even works in situations such as a moving car on a bumpy road, or if the user has a motor disability which causes a tremor or sudden hand jerks, such as Parkinson’s disease or cerebral palsy.

“Touchscreens and other interactive displays are something most people use multiple times per day, but they can be difficult to use while in motion, whether that’s driving a car or changing the music on your phone while you’re running,” said Professor Simon Godsill from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, who led the project. “We also know that certain pathogens can be transmitted via surfaces, so this technology could help reduce the risk for that type of transmission.”

̽��ֱ��technology uses machine intelligence to determine the item the user intends to select on the screen early in the pointing task, speeding up the interaction. It uses a gesture tracker, including vision-based or RF-based sensors, which are increasingly common in consumer electronics; contextual information such as user profile, interface design, environmental conditions; and data available from other sensors, such as an eye-gaze tracker, to infer the user’s intent in real time.

“This 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,” said Lee Skrypchuk, Human Machine Interface Technical Specialist at Jaguar Land Rover.

It could also be used for displays that do not have a physical surface such as 2D or 3D projections or holograms. Additionally, it promotes inclusive design practices and offers additional design flexibilities, since the interface functionality can be seamlessly personalised for given users and the display size or location is no longer constrained by the user ability to reach-touch.

“Our technology has numerous advantages over more basic mid-air interaction techniques or conventional gesture recognition, because it supports intuitive interactions with legacy interface designs and doesn’t require any learning on the part of the user,” said Dr Bashar Ahmad, who led the development of the technology and the underlying algorithms with Professor Godsill. “It fundamentally relies on the system to predict what the user intends and can be incorporated into both new and existing touchscreens and other interactive display technologies.”

This software-based solution for contactless interactions has reached high technology readiness levels and can be seamlessly integrated into existing touchscreens and interactive displays, so long as the correct sensory data is available to support the machine learning algorithm.

̽��ֱ��technology was developed between 2012 and 2018 by the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE) as part of the CAPE Motion Adaptive Touchscreen System for Automotive - MATSA (1 and 2) project.

A ‘no-touch touchscreen’ developed for use in cars could also have widespread applications in a post-COVID-19 world, by reducing the risk of transmission of pathogens on surfaces.

Touchscreens and other interactive displays are something most people use multiple times per day, but they can be difficult to use while in motion, whether that’s driving a car or changing the music on your phone while you’re running

Simon Godsill

Can Touchless screens prevent future epidemics and car accidents?

Jaguar Land Rover

Predictive touch

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Heads up: Cambridge holographic technology adopted by Jaguar Land Rover

sc604 — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 08:00:00 +0000

Cambridge researchers have developed a new type of head-up display for vehicles which is the first to use laser holographic techniques to project information such as speed, direction and navigation onto the windscreen so the driver doesn’t have to take their eyes off the road. ̽��ֱ��technology – which was conceptualised in the ̽��ֱ��’s Department of Engineering more than a decade ago – is now available on all Jaguar Land Rover vehicles. According to the researchers behind the technology, it is another step towards cars which provide a fully immersive experience, or could even improve safety by monitoring driver behaviour.

Cars can now park for us, help us from skidding out of control, or even prevent us from colliding with other cars. Head-up displays (HUD) are one of the many features which have been incorporated into cars in recent years. Alongside the development of more sophisticated in-car technology, various companies around the world, most notably Google, are developing autonomous cars.

“We’re moving towards a fully immersive driver experience in cars, and we think holographic technology could be a big part of that, by providing important information, or even by encouraging good driver behaviour,” said one of the technology’s developers, Professor Daping Chu of the ̽��ֱ��’s Department of Engineering, who is also Chairman of the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE).

CAPE was established in 2004 to enable Cambridge researchers to work in partnership with industry to translate science into new technologies and products. ̽��ֱ��holographic HUD technology originated with Professor Bill Crossland in 2001, and was licensed to and developed by CAPE partner company Alps Electric, and then by Two Trees Photonics Ltd at Milton Keynes, in collaboration with researchers at CAPE. Products were designed by Two Trees Photonics and Alps, and manufactured by Alps for Jaguar Land Rover. ̽��ֱ��HUD became an available option on their vehicles in September 2014.

̽��ֱ��HUD technology developed at Cambridge is the first to use laser holographic techniques, which provide better colour, brightness and contrast than other systems, but in a smaller, lighter package. It provides key information to the driver without them having to take their eyes away from the road.

But according to Chu, the technology’s potential has yet to be fully realised, and its real advantage is what it could be used for in future models. “What we really want to see is a fully 3D display which can provide much more information to the driver in a non-intrusive way – this is still a first generation piece of technology,” he said.

For a technology that feels somewhat futuristic, HUDs actually have a long history. ̽��ֱ��earliest HUDs were developed during the Second World War to help pilots hit their targets while manoeuvring. ̽��ֱ��modern HUD became commonplace in military aircraft in the 1960s, in commercial aircraft in the 1970s, and in 1988, the first production car with a HUD was introduced.

In aircraft, a typical HUD includes information such as airspeed, altitude, heading and a horizon line, with additional information such as distance to target and weapon status for military applications.

Most of the HUDs in passenger cars display similar information as can be seen on the dashboard – speedometer and tachometer, as well as navigation information. Some models also display night vision information.

̽��ֱ��commercially-available Cambridge HUD projects information which is relevant to the driver onto the windscreen, in full colour and in two dimensions. But according to Chu, this type of technology is just getting started.

“There are three main types of information that we could integrate into future holographic head-up displays in the future,” he said. “ ̽��ֱ��first is the type of information that’s on today’s displays, but potentially we could add other information in a non-intrusive way: for example, if the driver passes a petrol station, perhaps the price of petrol at that station could flash up in the corner – the trick is how to display the most useful information in a way that doesn’t distract the driver.

“ ̽��ֱ��next level of information that could be incorporated into holographic HUDs is information about the position of pedestrians, cyclists, kerbs or other vehicles; or whether the driver is on the right track. And if we move into the next level, we start thinking about how we can use this sort of technology to help encourage good driving behaviour.”

Although it is the realm of fantasy at the moment, the sorts of things which Chu envisions for future holographic HUDs could help avoid accidents by monitoring driver behaviour. “Imagine if this technology could be used to give alerts to the driver if they were driving too fast, or getting drowsy, or were over the legal alcohol limit. You could have all of this information with an augmented reality approach – your screen is your world, really. What I want is for the driver to have an immersive experience in how they connect to the world.”

̽��ֱ��sort of immersive experience which Chu predicts crosses over with the development of autonomous or driverless cars, another project which involves researchers from Cambridge’s Engineering department.

“ ̽��ֱ��car will evolve,” said Chu. “I’m sure in 50 years’ time, everything in cars will be controlled by computers, but it’s being developed in different directions. ̽��ֱ��sorts of questions we’re interested in answering are around the idea of integrating critical and non-critical systems in a vehicle. When these systems are integrated, who ultimately makes the decision – the car or the driver? And in the case of disagreement, who wins?”

Lee Skrypchuk, Human Machine Interface Technical Specialist at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “ ̽��ֱ��development of a laser holographic HUD presented a number of technical challenges but also a number of benefits including small package size, high optical efficiency, wide colour gamut and cross platform compatibility. Incorporating a laser holographic light engine was a true world first application of technology for Jaguar Land Rover and I'm delighted that the technology has worked so well in our vehicles.”

A ‘head-up’ display for passenger vehicles developed at Cambridge, the first to incorporate holographic techniques, has been incorporated into Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.

We’re moving towards a fully immersive driver experience in cars, and we think holographic technology could be a big part of that.

Daping Chu

Jaguar Land Rover

Head-Up Display (HUD) projects key driving information onto a small area of the windscreen.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

Yes

New and under the sun

tdk25 — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 08:53:12 +0000

A new solar car which, according to its creators, “rewrites the rulebook” for green vehicles, has been designed by students aiming to become the first British team to win the World Solar Challenge.

̽��ֱ��prototype, which has been named “Resolution”, was built by engineers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. It is being unveiled in a road-test today (July 5th) at the Millbrook Race Track, near Bedford.

̽��ֱ��team will be taking the car to Australia in October, where they will compete against rivals from all over the world in a 3,000km race from Darwin to Adelaide, in which the vehicles must be powered by the sun alone.

Their hope is that Resolution’s radically different design, in particular a set of moving solar panels which maximise power by tracking the path of the sun across the sky, will enable them to take first place where others have failed. No British team has ever won the competition in its 26-year history.

Keno Mario-Ghae, team manager for Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Eco-Racing, based at the ̽��ֱ��’s Department of Engineering, said: “Resolution is different because she overcomes one of the main limitations that affect most solar cars.”

“Traditionally, the entire structure of a solar car has been based on a trade-off between aerodynamic performance and solar performance. That’s how they’ve been designed for the past 10 years, and that’s why they all tend to look the same.”

“We turned the concept on its head. Our reasoning is that solar performance needs to adapt to the movement of the sun, but the car needs a fixed shape to be at its most aerodynamic. To make the car as fast and powerful as possible, we needed to find a way to separate the two ideas out, rather than find a compromise between them.”

̽��ֱ��solution the team eventually hit upon involved embedding the solar panels within an aft-facing tracking plate. This plate follows the sun’s trajectory, and moves the panels themselves, so that they are optimally positioned at all times. ̽��ֱ��team estimate that this will give the car 20 per cent more power than it would have otherwise had.

This structure is placed under a canopy which forms part of the teardrop shape of the vehicle as a whole. ̽��ֱ��design is a departure from the “tabletop” look of most other solar cars, but is more aerodynamic. Because it encases the solar panels, rather than making them part of the shape, the question of power generation does not compromise the car’s aerodynamics.

Resolution measures less than 5m in length, is 0.8m wide and about 1.1m in height. Driving her across the Australian desert is likely to be a claustrophobic experience - in fact, the driver must be a maximum of 5’ 3’’ tall! These, however, are deliberate concessions made by the team for the sake of making the vehicle as fast and efficient as possible in the hope of winning the race. In the future, more conventional solar vehicles may well adopt similar ideas, but opt for comfort, rather than speed.

̽��ֱ��car weights 120kg, and can reach a top speed of almost 140 kilometres per hour (almost 87 miles per hour), but needs about the same amount of power as a hairdryer. It achieves this by maximising efficiency at every level - for example, the motor is located in the hub of the wheel, eliminating the need for gears, chains or differentials which would lower its efficiency overall.

For those small enough to squeeze inside the cockpit, the vehicle has also been fitted with on-board telemetry, an “intelligent cruise control” which takes into account traffic, weather and driving style, and will advise the team on how to optimise the vehicle’s efficiency during the race itself.

2013 will be the third time that student engineers at Cambridge have taken part in the race. ̽��ֱ��first attempt, in 2009, was beset by battery issues and saw the team finish 14th out of 26 entrants. After a substantial redesign, the ̽��ֱ��’s Eco-Racing team entered again in 2011. That race was hampered by bush fires and poor weather conditions, and only seven of the participating cars were able to finish using solar power alone.

̽��ֱ��team raises its own funds to develop and build the car, using a combination of corporate sponsorship and individual donations through a “Friends of CUER” scheme. ̽��ֱ��students involved also have to manage the manufacturing schedule carefully, as part way through the course of building the vehicle everything is necessarily put on hold while they do their exams! ̽��ֱ��final product is the result of a huge, collaborative effort involving 60 students.

“Efficiency is where our real strength lies and this is how we will be hoping to compete with the bigger teams entering the Challenge this time around,” Mario-Ghae added. “A huge amount of careful planning has gone into this project. It has involved research not just in terms of engineering and aerodynamics, but into the materials we use, the modelling behind the design, and the optimisation of the solar cells that power the car.”

“ ̽��ֱ��cumulative effect is, we think, a radical, race-winning design that also incorporates elements that could be used more widely in a low-carbon future. No British team has won this race before, but there is no reason why we can’t be the first to do it.”

For more information about this story, please contact Tom Kirk, Tel: 01223 332300, thomas.kirk@admin.cam.ac.uk

A group of Cambridge students are hoping that their game-changing design of solar car will make them the first British winners of the World Solar Challenge.

̽��ֱ��cumulative effect is a radical, race-winning design that also incorporates elements that could be used more widely in a low-carbon future

Keno Mario-Ghae

CUER

̽��ֱ��2013 solar car developed by Cambridge students has a more aerodynamic design, thanks to tracking solar panels at the back, which prevent any compromise on its shape.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

Yes