Jaguar Land Rover self-driving shuttle communicates with 'virtual eyes'

Jaguar Land Rover wants pedestrians to feel safer about its self-driving vehicles, and it's hoping a pair of "virtual eyes" will do the trick. 

The thing is, it's kinda creepy.

Think about it: A shuttle pulls up to a stoplight at an intersection that you're waiting to cross and suddenly its cartoonish, drooping eyes are looking directly at you. Would you feel comforted? 

The idea is that you would, and it's the latest attempt to replicate the human interaction that can occur between a driver and a person crossing the road. Ford, for instance, is working on a self-driving "language" that uses various patterns on a windshield-mounted light bar to communicate what the car is doing. Drive.AI is developing a less subtle method with digital images and captions on the side of its shuttles that explain what the car is doing, such as, "Waiting for you to cross." Read more...