Views
5 years ago

THE JAGUAR #05

  • Text
  • Jaguar
  • Racing
  • Formula
  • Waymo
  • Thrill
  • Motorsport
  • Engineers
Discover a different side to Eva Green | Will your next taxi be a self-driven Jaguar I-PACE? | What it takes to break a lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife | The petrolheads racing in Jaguar’s new all-electric race series | Up close with the latest special edition of the XE and XF: the 300 SPORT

TOMORROW’S WORLD With

TOMORROW’S WORLD With the I-PACE winning acclaim across the board, Jaguar’s first pure electric vehicle has put the company in the vanguard of the EV revolution. Jaguar has beaten all its key rivals to market with an EV that parlays the brand’s core strengths – design, performance, ride and handling – into a thrilling new zero-tailpipeemissions form, giving the wider image of all-electric vehicles a dramatic boost. As a game-changing vehicle that defies convention, the influence of the I-PACE is far-reaching. Jaguar has inked a deal to co-build and supply up to 20,000 I-PACEs to Waymo, the autonomous cab-hailing service that’s hailed as one of Silicon Valley’s hottest startups. Part of the mighty Alphabet group that includes Google, Waymo is in pole position in the quest to bring self-driving taxis to the public. It is already trialing its service in the US, where it has 600 autonomous minivans shuttling willing participants around ‘geo-fenced’ parts of Phoenix, Arizona, and a handful of fully autonomous taxis testing on open roads. A full US launch of the service is planned for 2020. “When we saw the I-PACE there was recognition that it was an amazing platform to integrate our technology with,” explains Waymo’s CEO John Krafcik. “It was a clean sheet platform, and had a powerful 90-kWh battery. There was instant chemistry, too – a commonality in how Jaguar and Waymo see the world.” That common world view will be key to the venture’s success. To that end, Jaguar has already embedded engineers within Waymo, making sure the self-driving technology is fully and optimally integrated into the Waymo Jaguar I-PACEs right from the start. It will also mean that Jaguar will not simply build EVs for a new market – it will become an active partner in a venture that could profoundly change mobility concepts. “Waymo was excited to discover the Jaguar I-PACE wasn’t just a motor show concept car,” says Hanno Kirner, Executive Director - Corporate and Strategy, at Jaguar. “We have created a highly advanced EV; they have developed the most advanced self-driving system. And what we have here is the world’s first autonomous robo-taxi.” “Integrating a self-driving system into a car is a substantial task,” he continues. “But it’s a great learning process for both of us. We’re not just going to sell the car, we’re going to service and run the cars for Waymo. So this is a game-changer from that point of view, too. We’ll be a manufacturer, and become an operator of a shared mobility service.” “WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS THE WORLD’S FIRST AUTONOMOUS ROBO-TAXI” THE EYES HAVE IT Turbocharged by vast resources and intellectual firepower, the technology that will be fitted onto Waymo Jaguar I-PACEs is in constant development, but includes the very latest in sensor technology and artificial intelligence. At its core is an intelligent sensor and radar system – the LiDAR, the ‘eyes on the car’ – which is capable of detecting pedestrians, cyclists, roadworks and much more, up to the length of three soccer fields away, all in a 360° field. “We’re the only company in this area that has dedicated hardware engineers working on the sensing,” Krafcik says. “The LiDAR, radar, the vision systems and computing package are all Waymo-designed, and the hardware engineers are working side-by-side with the software engineers who are writing the code to move the cars around the world.” “Our technology has gone through what we regard as the toughest driving test in the world,” he continues. “Our cars have covered 5 million autonomous miles on roads in 25 different American 52 THE JAGUAR

cities. In addition, they have traveled 5 billion miles in simulations, and have been subjected to 20,000 individual tests in Waymo’s special test ‘city.’” The service will be available to users via a smartphone app; hail a cab, press go – and lean back as the ‘robo-taxi’ shuttles you to your destination. Krafcik, a Stanford and MIT grad who joined the automotive industry before being poached by Google to lead the Waymo vision, has a reputation as a fast-thinking high-flier. With Waymo, he envisions a world where intelligent sensors not only help eliminate accidents and improve safety for drivers, but also offer an opportunity to bring mobility to millions of non-drivers. “Safety and access is the primary motivator,” Krafcik says. “Getting to zero fatalities is going to be a long road, but it has to be the goal. In terms of access, 30 million Americans are of driving licence age, but are unable to drive for some reason – whether it’s because of a particular disability or infirmity. Imagine how an autonomous ride hailing service could help them.” With cutting-edge answers to some of future mobility’s most pressing questions, Jaguar and Waymo aim to transform the way we move. And as the first all-electric vehicle in the Waymo fleet, the I-PACE could well become an iconic symbol of this mobility revolution. BUILT FOR THE FUTURE As a premium, spacious yet compact electric vehicle from an innovative manufacturer, the new Jaguar I-PACE provides the perfect platform for Waymo’s ambitious plans to launch the world’s first driverless service. The I-PACE will be the first battery-electric vehicle in the Waymo fleet. Jaguar will adapt the vehicle at the production level so that it is capable of integrating Waymo’s self-driving technology. Up to 20,000 Waymo self-driving I-PACEs will be integrated into the ride-hailing service, which will become commercially available to the US public from 2020. THE JAGUAR 53

 

JAGUAR

THE JAGUAR MAGAZINE

 

JAGUAR MAGAZINE celebrates creativity in all its forms, with exclusive features that inspire sensory excitement, from seductive design to cutting-edge technology.

The latest issue features a range of inspiring people: from Luke Jennings, creator of Villanelle, one of the most interesting television characters in recent times, to Marcus Du Sautoy, who ponders whether artificial intelligence is on the brink of becoming creative. Out on the road, we visit the US to explore the foodie heaven of Portland in a Jaguar I-PACE, take a Jaguar XE to the south of France to get a photographer’s viewpoint of the charming town of Arles, and much more.

© 2020 Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC