Touch screens in cars

[Voltan]

Originally Posted by mfresh

The OP is absolutely right - touch screens are completely the wrong technology for cars.

In my XC60, you can navigate the menus on the screen using the thumb wheel while diverting your eyes for a fraction of a second to select commands, songs etc.

I have used a touch screen in another car and it's necessary to take a long look at the screen, move your finger to the appropriate icon, often having to move the orientation of your hand in order to press a button close to the edge of the screen (because the screen is countersunk into the dash) and then keep looking to see if you did hit the button or missed it.

There is simply no question that this is far more distracting and involves take your eyes off the road far longer than using a thumbwheel with a non-touch screen, and therefore it is bound to be more dangerous.

It is just the wrong technology for the use case in question - controlling an computer system while driving and it staggers me that any car maker thinks otherwise.

And the Arksfud pronounciation is really bizzarre....

Totally agree - that sums it up completely, not to mention that the screen looks dreadful with greasy fingerprints all over it. Physically navigating using the touch screen does require a lot of attention, not just the quick glance when looking at instruments or the satnav map or directions.

Voice recognition and Natural Language Processing is the way to go if you don't want to remove your hands from the steering wheel and your eyes from the road. I find voice recognition to be pretty accurate with Sensus and that could be enhanced to the level of Siri or Alexis. Presently, with the satnav voice control for instance, it is still necessary to look down at the screen, albeit for a brief moment, to select from the list of destinations but enhanced voice feedback could eradicate that as well.

Today, for the first time, I used Sensus Connect to navigate the tracks on the HDD in my new V40 and it was faultless, even though I pronounced Emilie Sandé as Emilie Shandy!

[Daleman]

Anyone brought up in the 60s with Morris 1000. & Austin A35s finds these modern computerised cars far to complicated and one can see very expensive repair costs coming up for subsequent owners .Planned early obsolescence?

[Whyman]

I loved my A30 and then upgraded to an A35. Great memories but when I see one now I wonder how I managed to fit in and sit in one for 3 hours on my journey back to work each weekend.

[xsaab]

The A35 was the ultimate touring vehicle, mine did Lincoln to Istanbul and back, plus trips to Heidelberg and to Prague. Only issue on the Prague trip was the right rear spring top leaf broke. The axle slipped back causing the hand brake to be applied and the car to sag. A quick butt weld with a patch across the join lasted a month and got me home.

I bet you could not get a Volvo repaired so easily.....

[Burundi]

Having used the SO touch screen satnav/radio in her Nissan compared to using my sensus satnav which I can control using voice, floating column buttons or steering controls I can confirm, certainly for me personally, that having to hit the right spot on a touch screen unit with no tactile feedback is more difficult and diverts my attention from the road for longer than using either the floating column controls or the steering wheel controls, the steering wheel controls being the best of the two, voice is the optimum method though I am still figuring out all the options, sometimes it is easier to just use the steering wheel controls.

I read a review of the new Tesla which brought up exactly the same issues, a touchscreen driven approach isn't tactile or sensitive enough to work as a complete replacement for hardware based buttons and switches, the difference with the Tesla however is OTA software updates will help reduce and improve those issues as they better understand customer needs. The Tesla does have limited hardware buttons that can be programmed to different functions.

[Grimble]

My son has a Tesla, the screen is bigger than my first telly.
When moving along Britains crap potholed roads, its more by luck than judgement that your finger hits the right spot on the screen.

[Deadloak]

Originally Posted by Voltan

Totally agree - that sums it up completely, not to mention that the screen looks dreadful with greasy fingerprints all over it. Physically navigating using the touch screen does require a lot of attention, not just the quick glance when looking at instruments or the satnav map or directions.

Voice recognition and Natural Language Processing is the way to go if you don't want to remove your hands from the steering wheel and your eyes from the road. I find voice recognition to be pretty accurate with Sensus and that could be enhanced to the level of Siri or Alexis. Presently, with the satnav voice control for instance, it is still necessary to look down at the screen, albeit for a brief moment, to select from the list of destinations but enhanced voice feedback could eradicate that as well.

Today, for the first time, I used Sensus Connect to navigate the tracks on the HDD in my new V40 and it was faultless, even though I pronounced Emilie Sandé as Emilie Shandy!

Personally I won't be buying another Volvo or other car, unless it has both voice control and a physical control that the passenger can use when I'm driving.

I do use the controls on the steering wheel, in fact more than voice controls, as even with voice learning it still screws up the selections.

[Deadloak]

Originally Posted by Daleman

Anyone brought up in the 60s with Morris 1000. & Austin A35s finds these modern computerised cars far to complicated and one can see very expensive repair costs coming up for subsequent owners .Planned early obsolescence?

lol, speak for yourself