The Land Rover you can drive with your phone

Land Rover's Discovery Vision Concept is being used to show off the company's latest technology

By Chris Knapman, 15 Apr 2014

Land Rover's Discovery Vision Concept features a host of innovative technology, including the ability to drive it with your phone

Land Rover has revealed a concept car that you can drive with your phone. The Discovery Vision Concept, which is being shown at this week's New York motor show, previews how the Discovery replacement will look, as well as several new technological breakthroughs.

Chief among these is the ability to control the vehicle at very low speeds via a smartphone, if a driver is attempting to navigate difficult terrain and needs to get out of the car, for example.

There's also Transparent Bonnet technology, which allows the driver to "see" under the car via a Head-Up display on the windscreen, plus infrared sensors in the foglights that scan the ground ahead, map the terrain and display the imagery on a screen inside the car.

Bringing all of this together, along with features such as Hill Descent Control and low-speed steering assist, is Land Rover's Terrain Response system.

However, it's not just the off-roading functions that are of interest. The Discovery Vision Concept also uses augmented reality to create what Land Rover calls "smart glass".

The idea is that the glass itself can display imagery, like a computer screen, while otherwise being completely transparent. This means that, working in conjunction with eye-tracking sensors, it can display information on surroundings based on what the occupants of the vehicle are looking at. Gaze at a passing landmark, for example, and the vehicle can tell you what it is and how to get there. Swiping the window can then send this information to a smartphone or tablet.

The panoramic sunroof, meanwhile, can be used to display screensavers, such as a starry night sky. And speaking of night, the Discovery Vision Concept features headlights with laser diodes and LEDs, and will automatically dip just the relevant part of the light when they sense oncomingtraffic.The aim, says Land Rover, is to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic while maintaining visibility for the driver.

The Land Rover Discovery Vision Concept is making its debut at this week's New York motor show. Land Rover is yet to confirm which elements of the technology we are likely to see on the production version of the new Discovery or Freelander replacement, which will go on sale in 2015.

The launch of the new vehicles also ties in with the original Discovery’s 25th anniversary. Under Land Rover’s plans it will sit in one of three distinct pillars, likely to be known as “leisure” alongside the new Defender (“dual purpose”) and Range Rover (“luxury”) models.