By Stephan Hellmann, DVN-Interior
After two truly exciting and impressive days at the Embedded World trade fair in Nuremberg, the many conversations and topics are still fresh in my mind. I met old acquaintances and saw new innovations on display.
For example, Tianma showed prototypes of transparent displays that will be fitted in the dashboard area of future vehicles, and there were multiple HUD projection applications on display.
In recent years, some in-car applications have come under criticism on concerns that drivers are distracted by scrolling through menus and by lack of haptic feedback, posing a safety risk. So in some areas, there has been a return to multiple mechanical switches. I had a very insightful discussion on this subject with Dr Karl-Heinz Blankenbach from the University of Pforzheim: many of the potential risks could be more than offset by a properly functioning voice control system.
The use of interactive displays isn’t particularly advantageous in harsh environments, such as in the agricultural sector, with constant impacts and vibrations. In such environments, mechanical switches are certainly still the preferred option at present.
In general, the display applications showcased for the car interior were of a very high technical standard. Particularly in newer models, displays and their use are now second nature, having been learned from an early age, and it is hard to imagine the car interior without them.
