I agree that the touch screen on an automotive dashboard can be a serious distraction. Tactile feel and a memoty of where things are on a dashboard is much safer. It doesn't take your eyes off teh road or require distracting you from driving. We can bemoan these thoughts all we want. They will really be brought into focus with a huge lawsuit claiming damages for what we have been discussing.
The use of touchscreens in manufacturing should be an interesting evolution to follow over the next couple years. Clearly these user interfaces offer key advantages and more visual presentations. It will be interesting to see how users adjust to learning new techniques to viewing information, even in terms of selecting laptops versus tablets for general computing.
Good idea but I think it would have to be a pretty sophisticated voice control system - I can see lots of variables that would need to be addressed. Not sure I would want "suggestions" either - that lady in my GPS can get quite annoying! I think common sense would go a long way in providing a safe ride without all of the electronic gadgetry that often distracts more than it helps but unfortunately that doesn't come factory installed...like a touch screen can.
I agree with James. Voice is possibly the only viable option for cars until they drive themselves.
Alternatively, a "smart system" could figure out what you want to do and offer suggestions. Like, learning your driving pattern, locations, etc. A low level A.I. would be needed, so that might be a long way off too.
Add me to the list of people that think this is a bad idea. It's so easy to reach down and give a knob a couple of clicks, rather than navigating a menu.
Voice control is still the safest manual driver "advanced" interface.
If the touchscreens could have some tactile feedback and operate exactly like manual controls, people will still look off at their touchscreens, wherever they are placed. I remember reading about some screens that could create custom raided-surfaces on touchscreens. Could that be the real answer?
The real way to go is driverless cars. Google is getting closer to something useful. Several car companies have auto park systems. Others are branching into automated controls as well. After this trend comes to full maturity, we can have all the touchscreens we want in the car... Not driving will leave us all bored.
I whole heartedly agree - as soon as I saw the title to this article I was thinking about the nightmare I have with the touchscreen on my cell phone and how frequently I "mistouch" the screen even when looking at it. While the technology itself is ideal in some venues - I just don't see it as feasible for an automotive environment. I too vote for knobs that I can feel in order to operate automotive controls...
I agree GTOlover. Even something as simple as changing radio station. I've got an old car and can control all the main functions solely by feel. You know approximately where the buttons and knobs are and if your aim is off by a quarter inch you immediately adjust without even thinking about what you're doing. If you have a flat panel, you have no clue where you are so you have to look.
Without tactile feedback, the touchscreen becomes a point that requires the driver to shift his eyes off of the road and onto the screen. The touchscreens for infotainment is good and certainly adds a clean factor to it. But I find that the need to access heater controls (like trying to activate the front defrost), can be quite distracting and even a safety hazard. Nothing like a knob that I can grasp and turn while I continue to watch the road ahead.
Using almost 200 light-emitting diodes in the front and back of the new 2014 CTS, Cadillac designers are showing how LEDs can change the character of a vehicle.
We looked at a number of sources to determine this year's greenest cars, from KBB to automotive trade magazines to environmental organizations. These 14 cars emerged as being great at either stretching fuel or reducing carbon footprint.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
1 
