Simplifying controls

The use of telematics multicontrollers may mean fewer knobs, dials, switches, and buttons will populate automotive interiors, allowing the instrument panel to once again become the beautiful piece of sculpture it was back in the early days of the automobile.

Today's motorists are just starting to encounter the first trickle of what automotive industry experts say will soon be a flood of telematics information and services entering cars and trucks. Widespread cell-phone use on the road and popular driver-assistance services such as General Motors' OnStar and Mercedes-Benz' TeleAid are merely the initial steps toward the fully telematics-enabled “e-vehicle” of the future, they say. Determining how best to incorporate all the new navigation, safety, convenience, and “infotainment” features safely into automotive interiors without overloading both the driver and the cockpit instrument panel is an issue that has car designers and human factors engineers working overtime.

Though most designers of telematics interfaces are relying on voice-actuation technology to keep the driver's eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel, manual controls-particularly frequently used ones-will certainly not disappear; there just will be fewer of them,.and many of those that remain will moron into a flexible new form.