Checking in on Land Rover's connected, autonomous future

Switching from gravel to dirt? Surface ID sees it coming.

Down the road, it's possible to envision a similar unit built discreetly into the bumper housing, perhaps serving double duty as a parking sensor.

Land Rover will be testing various autonomous and semiautonomous technologies on public roads in the UK soon.

This screen lets engineers keep tabs on the Surface ID development rig. It would not be found in a production model.

Surface ID promises to let Land Rovers see the terrain and adjust vehicle systems before actually rolling over it.

This add-on ultrasonic sensor is the heart of Surface ID.

Land Rovers are known for tackling terrain a lot more foreboding than this, and Surface ID will be calibrated to identify all sorts of conditions.

Terrain-Based Speed Adaption recognizes the water crossing and slows the vehicle accordingly. Those feather graphics are a visual depiction of the balance the driver chooses between speedy progress and a less frenetic ride.

A closer look at Terrain-Based Speed Adaption's key hardware: a high-resolution stereo camera.

There's a lot going on in this engineer's office.

With this test rig display, the engineers can see what the stereo cam sees.

The stereo cam is discreetly mounted atop a nearly flush-fitting light bar.

Here, Land Rover's iconic Series III speeds to the woods, where it's more at home.

Land Rover's iconic Defender (video) is due to finally get a replacement soon. Will it embrace advanced driver assist systems, or remain resolutely analog? Only Land Rover knows.