Message #1173 From:
TheMachine Date: March 25, 2008 05:52:38 PM
Touch screens and voice control will be the way to go -- VW !!!
Press Release
Volkswagen radio and navigation systems
The Association of German Engineers’ 2007 Electronics Congress in Baden-Baden:
“Interfaces will only be intuitive when they are actually fun to operate”
Volkswagen concentrates on intuitive operator controls Touch screens and voice control will be the way to go
Wolfsburg/Baden-Baden, 10 October 2007 - “Volkswagen is resolutely
pressing ahead with the development of intuitive operating elements in
automobiles,” Dr Volkmar Tanneberger, the head of Volkswagen electrical
and electronics development, emphasised at the “Elektronik 2007”
congress being held in Baden-Baden, Germany. Initiated by the
Association of German Engineers (VDI), this congress is one of the key
meetings of this kind. “When it comes to operator interfaces,”
Tanneberger further concluded, “Volkswagen’s main focus is on achieving
strict alignment with what the customer wants. It is important that the
development of increasingly enhanced electronics does not result in car
owners being overwhelmed by them. On the contrary, modern electronics
must serve the sole purpose of optimising driving safety and comfort.”
The new generation of Volkswagen radio and navigation systems
featuring touch-screen control (already in use in the Touareg, the
Touran and the Tiguan) provide a good example of how such user-oriented
controls should ideally be designed. "The touch screen," says Dr
Tanneberger, "enables simple, intuitive and clearly structured
operation. With a veritable explosion in the number of functions
possible in electronic systems these days, the touch screen offers new
quality in simplified operation. That is why we will eventually be
offering these systems across our entire range of vehicle models."
The
up! concept car presented at the IAA in Frankfurt provides a preview of
what the future holds with respect to such human-machine interfaces
(HMI) designed to accommodate the needs of motorists. Many of the
functions available in the up! city specialist are controlled via a
touch screen which is fitted with proximity sensor technology so that
it responds even to people’s gestures.
Another integral
element of future intuitive interface technology will be voice control
for telephones and navigation systems. "To achieve ideal
inter-networking between all functional and operating levels within the
vehicle," Tanneberger explains, "our work has long drawn on the
co-operation of different disciplines. It is important not to take a
separate view of the ergonomics, haptics and design of operating
elements on the one hand and electronics development on the other. Only
when we regard them as a unified whole, will we achieve intelligent
concepts such as our new top radio-navigation system, the RNS 510,
whose interface design is adaptable to specific vehicle groups. For
sporty models such as the Golf GTI or the R32, for example, we can
develop accentuated sporty designs. Optimal user operability does not
rule out fascinating design. In fact, interfaces will only be intuitive
when they are actually fun to operate."
