Foursprung: Future car cockpit concept

Visteon and the Royal College of Art (RCA), London, have unveiled a future car cockpit concept designed to address the increasing demands on driver attention and the interaction with vehicle and portable electronics.

While Visteon is assessing a variety of display technologies, this particular future cockpit concept features laser projection. The use of laser technology enables cockpit designers to present the driver with a simulated 3-D computer screen replacing conventional driver information displays. The technology provides vehicle manufacturers with greater design freedom, whilst at the same time increases perceived quality for the end consumer, according to Visteon’s proprietary consumer research.
As well as utilizing a new display technology, the project has taken a fresh look at the prioritization of data within the cockpit. “We have used our combination of HMI, consumer and systems expertise to design an alternative display concept that reprioritizes the information shown in the space in front of the driver.” said Jim Fleming, Visteon’s Innovation Leader. “The space is divided into three parts, with speed at the top, warning lights at the bottom and the central section determined by the driver.”
The driver chooses one source of information to be displayed in the central section. This could be from the audio or climate system, or from a portable electronics device that he or she is using within the vehicle, such as a mobile phone, PDA, or MP3 player. Bluetooth wireless technology is used to connect these portable devices to the cockpit. The chosen device can be adjusted via steering wheel controls or voice technology.
“Drivers are using more portable electronic devices in their vehicles which increases the number of information sources within the car and hence driver distraction.” continued Fleming. “As this trend looks set to continue, our aim within this project was to explore ways of enabling the devices to be used in a safer manner. The design therefore allows the driver to focus on only one information source at a time, and presents that information on a larger display in a central location.”
“We hope that the future car cockpit project will evolve into a product that will allow vehicle manufacturers to use conventional cockpit architectures whilst providing them with a flexible HMI platform that can be targeted at different consumer groups. We call this product concept a driver HMI module, and our next step will be a joint development project with an OEM partner.”

Foursprung, Future, Car, cockpit, concept

Source: Visteon

Read more

Read what others are saying about it: Bloglines, Feedster, Technorati