Automotive
Cool Haptic Implementations
Leading and up-and-coming automotive brands use haptics to great advantage. Their products are winning awards, receiving acclaim, and delighting customers with extraordinary user driver experiences. With haptics, users experience more intuitive interactions, reduced glance time for improved safety, and more elegant space-saving designs.
Hyundai's 'Intelligent Haptic System'
Immersion's Licensee, Daesung Future Roadmap with OEM
Hyundai, in conjunction with Immersion licensee, Daesung showcases recent developement at CES 2011. The ‘Intelligent Haptic System’ is applied to major controllers to help control vehicle functions with tactual feedback and LED-based visual feedback. This is a next-generation intelligent control system that improves the concentration of the driver to enhance safety. The Intelligent Haptic System consists of 1) the Lumino Haptic Console Switch, a driver seat’s main controller with haptic and lumino functions, 2) the Haptic Steering Wheel Switch, a haptic function switch on the steering wheel, and 3) the Haptic Touch Screen, an LCD touch screen with dashboard switches on it.
Read Car Design News article, Hyundai at CES 2011
Hyundai Haptic Proof of Concept Uses PC - CES 2011 (video) —mp3car.com
- "While couching this view with the fact that the system remains a concept, it's design, usability and quality stands direct comparison with the premium German auto makers' products, and is far beyond anything currently seen from the likes of Lexus — with its mouse-controller — or Jaguar — with its touchscreen."
- “What's impressive is the way the ‘haptic feedback' has been integrated, with feedback varying to help a user understand where they are within a menu, and ultimately minimising the need to take eyes off the road.”
- "...impressive for its technological integration, was the somewhat clunkily-named 'Applied Mouse-type Commander with Haptic Wheel and Motion Sensor'. This advanced controller integrates three elements - joystick 'ball', mouse, and motion/gesture sensor — to create an impressively set of UI possibilities..."
—Car Design News
Lexus Remote Touch Haptic Controller
Force Feedback Enhances Driver Experience and Safety
Highlights – Remote Touch Haptic Controller
- Touch feedback provides intuitive and ergonomic control over a conveniently positioned display
- Let the driver feel haptic feedback when the cursor moves over different icons, like buttons
- Allow the Remote Touch control to output a bit of tactile resistance when it’s tilted to give the driver optimum control over the cursor on a screen above
- Give Lexus designers more flexibility in positioning the navigation/audio display, such as very near to the driver’s peripheral view of the road – a clear safety advantage
- “. . . Remote Touch is as natural to the driver’s hand as a computer mouse. It can also be customized to the desired level of haptic feedback.” —Top Speed
- “. . . Remote Touch lets you set up a lot of the systems in the car. Going across the main menu makes it more like navigating a smart phone. Haptics lets you feel the navigation ‘clunk, clunk, clunk.’” —CNET Car Tech
- “I have seen the future and it is the Remote Touch interface found in the all-new Lexus RX SUV . . . With the Remote Touch controller under your fingertips returning haptic feedback, your eyes don’t need to be glued to the screen all the time.” —Motor Trend
Advanced Haptic Displays from Visteon
Visteon presented its C-Beyond demonstration vehicle at CES 2011. Visteon’s reconfigurable touch panel uses capacitive touch technology with haptic feedback to provide solid state buttons for direct access to key menus and a reconfigurable touch screen window for a range of picto-graphical menus presented to occupants based on content. It optimizes the amount of information and menu options while reducing the need for visual confirmation by providing feedback to the driver when a selection is made on the haptic feedback surface.
Check out the video reviews from past to present CES exhibits:
- Visteon Combines Tactile Feel with Touchscreen – GeekNews, CES 2011
- Visteon Hapticand Spacial Gesture Touchscreen – mp3Car.com, CES 2010
- Visteon Automotive Interface Technologies – CNet Report, CES 2009
“The haptic aspect of the buttons conveys a strong premium feel, and their arrangement is ergonomically well thought out.”
“There is much to see in this concept, more so than first meets the eye. The center unit between the front seats features a combination of iDrive-like rotary control, and smartphone like touchscreen interface, controlling a host of smartphone-enabled location, navigational and social media based applications. These are integrated in a manner that shows a degree of awareness often missing from today's cars' solutions, not just in terms of considering their use in the unique environment that is a (potentially moving) vehicle, but also the wider implications they might have in terms of global mobility issues.”
—Car Design News
Mercedes S-Class Rotary COMAND Controller
COMAND's 8-way joystick controller is connected to a multi-function, force feedback control system. This type of physical feedback makes navigating menus and lists much easier, as you can feel each notch when turning the knob, and the feedback mechanism only allows you to rotate the controller when the screen options allow it.
Read GPS Magazine's complete review of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class GPS (COMAND).
“Comand is one of the more user-friendly [multifunction controllers]. Its primary advantage is the intuitive arrangement of menus on the screen that will have even new users comfortable with its operation in a matter of minutes. COMAND shows you the value this kind of thing can have when done right.” —Cars.com