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Let Jaguar take the wheel: The AI steering wheel is coming soon
Tue, 5th Sep 2017
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Jaguar Land Rover is revealing the intelligent and connected steering wheel of the future during the inaugural Tech Fest at Central St Martins, University of the Arts London.

The company wants this device to be more than just a regular ol' driving wheel, they want it to be your friend.

This steering wheel concept is meant to live in the user's home and over time become a trusted companion.

Now as far as I am concerned I want my steering wheel to be trustworthy from day one, and what if I'm having an off day and decide to yell at my car, will it be angry and crash me into a wall?

According to Jaguar Sayer is the first voice-activated artificial intelligence (AI) steering wheel that will be able to carry out hundreds of tasks.  

Sayer could signal a user's membership of Jaguar's on-demand service club.

A club which offers either sole ownership or the option of sharing the car with others in a user's community.

The goal is to create a future of autonomous, connected and electric cars where users don't own a single car, but instead, call upon the vehicle of choice where and when they need it.

That's a future vision Jaguar Land Rover is exploring with Sayer, the connected steering wheel that could be the only part of the car users own in the future.

Jaguar says that system will be intuitive explaining, “Need to be at a meeting two hours away from home by 8 am tomorrow? Simply ask Sayer from the comfort of your living room and it will work out when you get up when a car needs to autonomously arrive at your door and even advise which parts of the journey you might enjoy driving yourself.

Sayer owes its name to one of the most prominent designers from Jaguar's past, Malcolm Sayer, who worked for the British marque between 1951 and 1970.

Sayer overview:

  • The first voice activated, connected AI steering wheel would be able to work as a concierge and carry out hundreds of tasks on a user's behalf.
  • It could also be used to connect user's to an on-demand service club where they don't own a single car but call on one of a range of autonomous electric vehicles.
  • The interchangeable steering wheel would be fitted to the new vehicle when it arrives at a driver's door.

Sayer will be featured on a new Jaguar future vision concept, Jaguar ‘Future-type' which will explore mobility in 2040 and beyond.