A screen would be embedded in the surface of each pillar inside the car and would take a live video feed from cameras covering the angles outside the car usually obscured in the blind spots created by the A, B and C-pillars.

The carmaker said the system would mean that pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles would be visible all around the car. And when the driver indicates to change direction, when they move their head to look over their shoulder during an overtake manoeuvre, or as the vehicle approaches a junction, the system would automatically make the left or right-hand side pillars transparent.

This would be augmented by connecting the virtual windscreen to the Cloud, presenting information ranging from petrol station prices to the number of parking spaces available, so drivers won’t have to look for this information themselves.

The connected car could also enhance navigation by advising the driver to turn left or right at more visible landmarks, such as pubs or shops, rather than just road signs or street names.  

Meanwhile the Jaguar Land Rover team is also developing “Follow-Me Ghost Car Navigation”, which projects an image of a vehicle in front of the driver’s car for them to follow, turn by turn, to their destination.

‘Driving on city streets can be a stressful experience, but imagine being able to drive across town without having to look at road signs, or be distracted trying to locate a parking space as you drive by,’ said Dr Wolfgang Epple, director of R&D at Jaguar Land Rover. ‘We want to present all of this information on a Heads-Up Display in the driver’s eye-line, so the driver doesn’t have to seek it out for themselves and take their eyes off the road ahead.’