Land Rover Takes to the Skies for Testing New Seat Technology

Land Rover took to the skies to test its new seat fold technology. Renowned British adventurer, Bear Grylls put Land Rovers new Intelligent Seat Technology to the ultimate test when he tried changing the vehicle’s seating layout through a button on his smartphone while jumping from a plane.

Land Rover claims that owners of the new Discovery can change the configuration of their seats from anywhere in the world through an InControl Remote app on their smartphone.

Grylls tested this when he jumped from a plane with six members of the Royal Navy Parachute Display Team. He pressed a button on his smartphone to change the configuration of the seats in a new Discovery freefalling at 125mph, just before he needed to deploy his parachute and changed the seating to comfortably accommodate all the seven skydivers..

The new Discovery has a world-first Intelligent Seat Fold technology that allows motorists to fully reconfigure the two back rows of seats in just 14 seconds through the InControl Remote app. The app can be easily downloaded on any iOS or Android operating system. They can use the new app to connect with the vehicle from any point in the world, including midair to perform a wide range of functions. These include monitoring of the airconditioning settings, finding its location and checking to see if the windows are closed. The development of the app will take connectivity and customer connectivity to new levels in the premium SUV category.

Speaking about his adventure, Bear Grylls said that his fat proved that the New Discovery is the ultimate family SUV. He was really impressed with the world-first Intelligent Seat Fold technology and the fact that it functioned when accessed remotely through an app was even more impressive!

He added, “I’m not sure many people will be using it in such a manner but the technology to operate the car remotely in this way will undoubtedly be a real winner for busy families who want to be prepared.”

Alex Heslop, Land Rover’s Chief Engineer for Discovery, said this unique new feature will help the New Discovery to differentiate itself from other vehicles. Owners will have the convenience of changing their seating and setting temperature levels even while doing other tasks like shopping and the achievement marks a significant milestone in convenience that has been delivered through technological innovation.

The Intelligent Seat Fold technology can be activated in four different ways – remotely through the app, through switches within the luggage area, through similar switches on the C-pillar to fold or move seats while standing beside the vehicle and through a touchscreen display on the dashboard.