[RahulNagaraj]

Touchscreens aren't the most popular thing in cars, with many carmakers even bringing back physical buttons and switches to control various features. However, with the increasing number of features on offer, touchscreens do help consolidate their controls while simplifying the dashboard and the cabin.

Klaus Busse, Global Head of Design, Maserati, recently shared his thoughts on touchscreens in modern cars. He stated, "We use screens because there are so many features in a car that if I were to put a button for everything, the cabin would look like an old 747." Further adding, "The idea is to organize things in a screen that only presents to the driver what they need at that moment."



Busse went on to mention that though he isn't a "big fan" of touchscreens, he does believe them to be the right answer in today's vehicles. He mentioned how screen placement & the information displayed must reinforce the brand's driving enjoyment while minimising distractions. When asked whether his perfect interior would have a screen, Busse said, "Yes, you know, when I say I’m not a big fan [of screens] it doesn’t mean I would do something different with the interiors. I think [the screen] is the right answer."

Busse mentioned, "But where do we put the screen? Maserati puts it in a position that if you have your hands on the steering wheel, you can let your hand fall on the screen."

He added, "I don’t want the driver to move their shoulder out of the seat to reach for the screen and lose the perfect driving position. It’s not up here [atop the dash] where it is in most other cars because I don’t want the screen to visually distract the driver. As a species, we react to movement. The last thing I want [as a designer] is movement in your peripheral view to distract you from what you’re supposed to enjoy, which is the Maserati driving experience. From a distraction point of view and ease point of view, that’s why we move screens down low."

Source: TheDrive

Link to Team-BHP news

[DeKay]

I definitely agree with Klaus Busse. It's hard to imagine the sheer number of buttons and switches a modern car would need to physically control everything.
Touchscreens, though sometimes frustrating, are necessary for the abundance of features we enjoy today.

That said, cars today, to not look outdated a decade down the line will need top-quality graphics and powerful software like Unreal Engine (Just see how nice a Rivian or Lotus Eletre's screen looks).

A clunky or outdated-looking interface undermines the whole luxury experience. I also like how Busse emphasizes the right screen placement and design to minimize distraction – that's absolutely crucial for safety.

[Cresterk]

I drove a 2014 Volvo s60. It had a screen but it was not a touch screen. It could do everything from zooming in and out of maps to connecting bluetooth devices and controlling your phone from just the steering buttons. It was way more convenient than any modern car and I never had to take my hands off the steering or my eyes off the road for more than a split second.

With touchscreens you need to look directly at the screen to make sure your fingers are touching the right button because there is no feedback through your fingertips. Touchscreens really have no place in cars.

[DicKy]

No one is saying that buttons should be present for every function. Luxury cars of the 90 and 00s were swamped with buttons that interiors would be frequently reviewed as being cluttered. With todays features, it would be nigh impossible.

All everyone is saying is to leave the main functions/frequently used functions as knobs and buttons instead of cramming everything except for start/stop button and turn indicators into the touchscreen or making even normal buttons on the steering wheels and doorpads as touch based. All cost cutting in the garb of minimalism.

[NiInJa]

Here is what I feel after using some of the worst touchscreens on Maruti and Honda.

Critical functions: Physical Buttons
1. AC control: Rotary knobs with limited travel are the best (like mixer/grinder). Up and down levers or electronic rotary switch need visual confirmation to look at the temperature settings.
2. Heaters for mirrors, defogger: Physical buttons that are easily visible.
3. Door lock, Sunroof
4. Cruise Control, safety assists

Non Critical: Touchscreen and Buttons
Infotainment: Touchscreens, but should be in the peripheral vision of driver
Physical Buttons for: volume, mute, cancel, ok, scroll up/down, jump to navigation from any point.

Comfort Features that can be used before starting to drive: Touchscreen
Seat Adjustments: Touch screen
Seat Heating: Touch Screen or buttons
Sound adjustments, display mode.
Drive mode

[lordrayden]

So, Herr Busse is saying that the interiors of cars would look like the cockpit of the coolest and most famous passenger planes of my childhood?



Where do I sign up?

[vids2590]

He's playing the role of devil's advocate. Anyone remember the layout of second gen Porsche Cayenne? It really felt like a cockpit, Porsche kind of pulled it off but don't expect many others to do it. How about putting functions like climate control & speaker volume as physical buttons and rest of "tech" features on the screen. My father's MG HECTOR has climate control on the screen and seat ventilation as a physical button, exact opposite of logic. Touchscreens are necessary evil in today's cars but most of the companies get it wrong.

[anandhsub]

Originally Posted by lordrayden

So, Herr Busse is saying that the interiors of cars would look like the cockpit of the coolest and most famous passenger planes of my childhood?

+1. When I first read the headline thought he was in favor of having more physical buttons

[nimbus1]

I firmly believe that touch screen and button less interiors are here to stay and wont be reverted to adding a few here and there. Certainly there is a demand for this in the market and hence the design. I would ideally want the screen buttons to have some haptic feedback when touched or mimicking the feel of a real button. That's all it takes and of course voice commands will be more easily understood as AI progresses further replacing the need for real buttons. Imagine the onboard computer of Star Ship Enterprise, we are reaching there.

My interpretation of the original post is more on getting the screens aligned which are easy on eye and hand and the user don't have to move or guess too much while driving.

[Raghu M]

The statement is coming from Maserati, meaning it is not popular (read won't sell in huge nos.) given the breed of cars they make. The opinion is dated if you look at today's features, it's impossible to have physical buttons back. And if someone just states that we will go back to that era, it's just not possible. Even if all modern car makers were to try it, the sheer no. of functions today's cars have will not make it happen.

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

When I got my Ioniq5 , I thought there should be physical buttons for AC settings and so on. However, as I got used to the voice commands, I now rarely use the physical buttons, or the touch screen. Setting ac temp, blower speed, seat ventilation...is much easier via voice commands.

I believe the best experience will be a combination of physical buttons, plus AI commands. The secret sauce will be how it is implemented.

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by Seeler_Rebeiro

When I got my Ioniq5 , I thought there should be physical buttons for AC settings and so on. However, as I got used to the voice commands, I now rarely use the physical buttons, or the touch screen. Setting ac temp, blower speed, seat ventilation...is much easier via voice commands.

I believe the best experience will be a combination of physical buttons, plus AI commands. The secret sauce will be how it is implemented.

I am not an AI expert, but I worked on power optimization of keyword spotting like "hey google" or "Hey Siri". These are always on engines in low power memory. And once up, they enable voice to text engines, which are pretty old. I am not sure I would call it full on AI. There is some machine learning/training with the voice of the owner, but that is very rudimentary.

I certainly agree with your point that voice commands are super easy. I used to make this point when people criticized Tesla/Model 3 for its lack of buttons. These days a lot of manufacturers have gone simpler and added context sensitive touch screen options and voice commands.

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by Seeler_Rebeiro

I believe the best experience will be a combination of physical buttons, plus AI commands. The secret sauce will be how it is implemented.

I drive a Mazda and this is the philosophy that has been implemented. The screen itself is not touch enabled and its a combination of voice commands ( for calling someone, playing music etc ) and dials for AC, Cruise control etc.

[kunalkhandagale]

I see Mercedes with Maserati logo on it!

[Totoro11]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I drove a 2014 Volvo s60. It had a screen but it was not a touch screen. It could do everything from zooming in and out of maps to connecting bluetooth devices and controlling your phone from just the steering buttons. It was way more convenient than any modern car and I never had to take my hands off the steering or my eyes off the road for more than a split second.

With touchscreens you need to look directly at the screen to make sure your fingers are touching the right button because there is no feedback through your fingertips. Touchscreens really have no place in cars.

That's an interesting nuance you have brought out here... While designing, what do we think the purpose of a screen is?

Are we going to a)use a touchscreen for display or b) are we going to use it for control?

If we are using touch to control functions, that's when there are high chances of distraction as we have to look down to confirm. Having simple up-down, left-right & OK buttons on the steering to control whatever is displayed on the screen should be a good solution. Provide touch controls as a secondary option if they want.

Then, let the screen be as big as one MG can fit