The last few years have seen car screen exploding in size. Looks like there’s an arms race in screen size. Data from IHS Markit shows that the average size of car screen is 7.7 inches in 2018, and is now expected to average 8.4 inches next year. With those larger screens, there are fewer and fewer physical controls; Digital controls buried in the menu are now standard in many vehicles. Some owners may find this annoying. But Hyundai is defying that trend, as pointed out by Australia VehicleInstructions.
In case you lost it:
Head of Hyundai Design Department Sang Yup Lee speaks at the presentation New Kona and revealed something surprising: Hyundai intentionally included physical controls in its vehicles as a safety measure against digital controls. There are physical controls even in the most luxurious models of the Genesis brand.
“We’ve been using physical buttons quite a bit over the past few years. To me, safety-the relevant buttons must be hardware keys,” said Lee. Hyundai specifically chose to focus on physical controls for the climate control system and radio.
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The company’s rationale is simple. Lee said that Hyundai chose to keep the physical controls simple because the digital display can be distracting for the driver. Having to take your eyes off the wheel to find out some menu just to change the satellite radio station is danger. Lee talked about using one’s senses for physical control.
“When you are driving, it’s hard to control it. this is why when it’s a hardware key it’s so easy to feel and feel it,” he say.
Regarding the future, Lee said Hyundai is committed to maintaining physical buttons, at least until self-driving car launched. He says that Level 4 autonomy will come with soft joysticks, buttons that can be programmed to have multiple functions instead of controlling a single function. So while designers should have a clean, button-free interior better, automakers take note and follow Hyundai’s example. Exerciseople wants buttons in cars.
