Future Jaguar Land Rover Vehicles Could Prevent You From Getting Sick

The cure to the common cold might be a vehicle from Jaguar Land Rover.

According to the automaker, they’re exploring a “wide range of driver and passenger wellbeing features” and these include technologies which could help prevent people from becoming sick.

In particular, Jaguar Land Rover is looking at how ultraviolet light technology (UV-C) can be used to stop the spread of bacteria and viruses. As the company explained, they could integrate UV-C technology into the air conditioning system to neutralize harmful pathogens.

UV-C technology has been used in the medical industry for more than 70 years and Jaguar Land Rover notes it’s also used for disinfecting water, filtering air and sterilizing surfaces. The process is pretty simple as pathogens are exposed to ultraviolet light with wavelengths between 200-280 nanometers. This “breaks down the molecular structure” of their DNA.

Interestingly, the technology could also be used to fight so-called superbugs. Citing recent studies, Jaguar Land Rover says UV-C technology can cut the spread of drug-resistant organisms – such as MRSA, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, C. difficile and Acinetobacter – by up to 30%.

There’s no word on when UV-C technology could be integrated into future Jaguar Land Rover vehicles, but the company said their current air ionization system creates “trillions of nano-sized negatively charged particles” which deactivates pathogens.

According to Jaguar Land Rover chief medial officer, Dr Steve Iley, “The implementation of individual wellbeing measures as part of our ‘tranquil sanctuary’ research promises to not only improve quality of life for our customers but in this case, offers clear advantages in reducing pathogen spread – protecting the overall population from the threat of disease; particularly as we move towards shared mobility solutions.” He also noted drivers spend up to 300 hours behind the wheel annually, so there’s a “clear opportunity” for cars to administer preventative healthcare.