A tiny touchpad in the armrest or steering wheel of future vehicles could enable drivers to more easily communicate with a car's audio, radio, phone, or navigation system, thus reducing driver distraction.
Developed by TRW Automotive, the new touchpad employs capacitive sensors that allow drivers to use a finger to jot script onto a screen as small as an inch square. By writing a few letters on the screen, drivers could access the navigation system, a radio station, a certain song on an iPod, or numerous other in-car features. The key to the system is its ability to allow users to communicate with the vehicle without taking their eyes off the road.
Fixed in an armrest or steering wheel spoke, TRW's touch pad would enable drivers to communicate with the vehicle without taking their eyes off the road. (Source: TRW Automotive)
"When drivers are unable to input information in the correct way, they get distracted," Frank Koch, advanced engineering manager for TRW Body Control, told us. "What we've done is calculate the position and motion of your finger, and then translate that into numbers, letters, and words." The automotive supplier has accomplished that by creating a small screen that allows the driver to keep his or her arm fixed and merely move a thumb or finger to give a command. "You have to have your arm fixed and the touch pad must be near your finger," Koch said. "You could do that in an armrest or in the steering wheel, where your arm is fixed to the rim of the wheel."
Unlike the traditional capacitive screens employed in consumer electronics, TRW's system uses only a few sensors, rather than a capacitive array with as many as 20 devices per square centimeter. When a user touches the screen, it sends a signal to a microcontroller (MCU) with onboard software algorithms that recognize the change in capacitance and understand the script. A driver, for example, could write an "A" for audio, an "R" for radio, an "N" for navigation, or "CD" for the CD player, and the system could "know" which features to operate. A vehicle manufacturer could also set up the system so it recognizes nomadic devices, such as iPods and cellphones, Koch said.
My husband has always had cars that have voice recognition (he trades a car every three years for work) and it's been a constant source of entertainment for the family. He's somewhat of a techie so he'd get everyone all ready to see how accomplished his voice recognition system would be--how the car would automatically dial grandma or find a cool restaurant along the route. The things that came back during the interaction were literally hilarious and never even close to the command he was issuing. I have to say, over the last few years, even though the voice systems have gotten better, those experiences have made him lay off using the capabilities pretty much altogether. Perhaps something like Apple's Siri can change the technology's bad rap.
I think there's a lot of potential in terms of using scripts. Much like the old short hand, you could have a long list of options and cut to the chase with commands pretty quickly. I'm definitely very interested to see where this technology can take us.
I think the script idea is a good one, and it's been around for a long time. Back in 1983 I used a CAD system from Applicon that employed user-created symbols that you could define to do whatever commands you chose.
If you could choose what symbol you wanted to create (a Z for the radio, a C for the cruise, N for navigation, etc.), then you could customize your experience, and have hands-free customized access to everything.
That's what we did with the Applicon CAD system, and it was the most productive system in the department.
Beth, I fully agree with you. I think this is why voice recognition software for PCs has not really taken off. I am sitting in a Starbucks (the office of choice for many, I notice) and I would not want to have to speak to enter this post. I notice, by the way, that there are very few people with iPads (or other tablets) here. Just about everyone has a laptop open.
Formula 1 drivers intereact with their cars via the steering wheel. These have become fantastically expensive (primarily becuase of the low volumes). In fact, they stay with the driver. A system like this one from TRW in a steering wheel could be an interesting twist on that idea.
I'd trade voice commands for script commands any day. This technology seems pretty promising in that it seems, on the surface, pretty simplistic in terms of usability. The problem with voice is there is so many openings for the system to misinterpret what you're asking of it that it's almost a joke. This seems much more straight forward, especially if the commands are simple.
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