VW has made a move
to acquire licensing for a new technology called TouchSense from a U.S. company called Immersion.
Foursprung reports that this technology
makes it possible to make virtual buttons on touch screens sensible, thus providing tactile feedback from a 2-D
display. TouchSense could virtually turn your entire center console into a flat-screen display that has the ability to
simulate buttons and even provide the resistance of a normal button pushing in. VW-Audi has always been on the
forefront of interior design, so we’re curious to find out when and where TouchSense technology will show up
first. If we're not mistaken, at one of the higher-end aftermarket nav systems already has this capability, though we
haven't gotten on our hands on it yet.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joe 6:49PM (12/27/2005)
Great, another non-tactile interface to take the driver's eyes off the road...
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Corey W. 7:17PM (12/27/2005)
Crap!! Can you imagine if the system ever malfunctioned.
"No officer, I had no idea I was speeding, somehow the cruise control and the radio volume get mixed up.... uh oh, just a minute, I have to reboot my car!!!" :-)
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BrianS 7:18PM (12/27/2005)
Cool, but given VW's history of electrical gremlins, lets hope that they outsource the manufacturing of the interface to the Japanese.
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G. Snyder 7:44PM (12/27/2005)
#1 can't read I guess. The whole point is that it "is" tactile. Some of the Alpine touch screen displays employ this technology. It is kind of weird - you can feel the endges of the virtual button. It almost seems as though you are breaking the screen or something. Pretty neat.
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John 12:19AM (12/28/2005)
Yikes... from the looks of Immersion's website; these people were responsible for the now infamous iDrive system.
http://www.immersion.com/automotive/applications/
Since I am a poor bloke, I cannot comment on whether or not the iDrive trully is a system that makes driving more keen once you are comfortable with it - but from the looks of things - VW better be careful with how they attempt to implement a cutting edge interface.
On a lighter note, where did the autoblog editors find the picture of the girl touching blank space? Either you all have a massive stockpile of random photos, or that's just weird.
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John Neff 1:39AM (12/28/2005)
found the photo at istockphoto.com, which is just a bunch of random photos available for cheap. Since speed is of the essence here at Autoblog, I gave myself five minutes to meld that pic with the VW logo and I have to say I'm pretty proud of my work :)
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Galley 7:11AM (12/28/2005)
Dang, I thought that was Mischa Barton at first.
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Robert Farago 10:43AM (12/28/2005)
Pride goeth before a photochop.
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Tommy Ward 11:50AM (12/28/2005)
The link to immersion didn't seem to work correctly, but the web site is there, and yes they are responsible for the iDrive. I work with computers in my career, and I love cars...but I don't ever want a car with a joystick or mouse. I think that the designers who incorporate that stuff into a car are insane, and the people who buy it I just don't understand.
Tactile is good. Analog guages are good. Any control systems that require me to navigate through pull-downs and a computer menu while driving must be a huge distraction. I think the safety people who are going after cell phone use by drivers should take a hard look at these computer interface systems for drivers.
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Joe 3:10PM (12/28/2005)
"#1 can't read I guess. The whole point is that it "is" tactile."
I guess I understand that there is a "tactile" feel, but what I was getting at is the ability to make an adjustment without looking at the thing. I guess I am just a knob type person, I have always hated stereos with buttons, because I have to look at the unit, put my finger on the correct button, where with a good ol' fashioned knob I can reach towards it and turn it without looking.
"Tactile is good. Analog guages are good. Any control systems that require me to navigate through pull-downs and a computer menu while driving must be a huge distraction."
I totally agree.
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