Jaguar Introduces 'Shoulder Tap' Bike Detection System

In a heaving metropolis, cars and bikes seldom mix well. Of course this has something to do with the white van man having to fill his white van man quota by aiming to clatter into as many as possible, but for the most part it's down to a dangerous increase in urbanisation.

 

Just exiting a car on a city street can be fraught with enough hazards - one unchecked mirror and you’re in danger of having a stealthy two-wheeled bicycle courier flatten you at 20mph. Or worse, a motorcyclist.

 

So for all the talk of autonomous car designs and the bold ideals of futuristic that most car companies are currently obsessing over, we’re glad the bods at Jaguar Land Rover have turned their attentions to solving a more pressing, and realistic issue: making roads less treacherous for both bike riders and car drivers.

 

The brand’s next fleet of road cars will have state-of-the-art technology designed to give drivers a ‘Shoulder Tap’ to warn of cyclists, pedestrians and motorbikes. And no, it doesn’t deploy a stick to hit you on the arm - the system instead uses a variety of vibrations around certain areas to ensure you’re aware of oncoming threats picked up by the sensors outside the car.

 

Pulling the door handle? You’ll feel a light shock. Putting your foot down? The pedal vibrates too. The chance of an accident diminishes ever further thanks to this brilliant and entirely achievable concept, which comes just weeks since the brand's virtual windscreen.

 

Now if they can fit in a coffee machine that serves Starbucks lattes it really will be the near future of driving.