Wondering About Vehicle Controls

This blog is more about "wonderings" than wanderings. This article has a special purpose here because it relates to how we wander in our vehicles--how we interface with our automobiles while we explore.

The Issue
In the past, the value of an automobile was getting from point A to point B. Gradually, a few additional needs came into play: reliability, comfort and safety. Today, while these are all still considered as "user criteria" we now see even more features packed into these objects to appeal to entertainment needs and, dare I say, even swagger needs--where else does interior LED mood lighting get categorized?!

The interface of a modern automobile is cluttered with buttons, knobs, dials, switches, touchscreens, steering wheel controls and voice command capabilities. Take a look at a 2016 Land Rover to one from 50 years ago. Before GPS, before computers were the size of pint of beer and what you see is a pretty basic interface.

1966 Land Rover Series IIA...simple

2016 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque...so many controls where do I begin?

Manufacturers are jam-packing features into cars with disregard for standards. It's all about "car company A" versus "car company B" at the expense of the user's learning curve.

I'm not trying to limit invention or improvements. I'm just asking for a framework--a set of rules--that dictate certain functions. Even the most advanced gadget geek will admit to craving regular ol' buttons. It allows us to drive safely while feeling our way around to turn music up, turn the heat down, turn the wipers on--all without taking our eyes off the road. It's common sense.

Maybe I'm being a cynic and perhaps standardization is happening, but if it is, the outcomes are not palatable. Maybe we can blame patents and their greedy holders. That's a another blog for another time, but regardless patents are the scapegoat of the digital age.

The Solution
Standards. I'm all for allowing manufacturers to innovate but they need to commit to a set of standards just like they did with the position of pedals and the steering wheel in the early 20th century. I will close this blog with a few standards I think should be used when designing controls so vehicles are more intuitive:

• Recognizable standard icons
• No knob as the control for the computer screen (Mercedes this is especially directed to you and you aversion of fingerprints on the monitor)

  

  2016 Mercedes GLC knob control--a neat idea for the OCD, a bad idea for usability 

• Minimum touchscreen size of 7" (any smaller and it's just not accessible for older eyes)
• QWERTY keyboard
• Predictive text for data entry
• Acceptable response times...like less than half a second. I'm trying to drive here!
• No rotating menus. Use physical buttons if all the information can't fit on one screen. No one wants to wait while the information choreographs itself.
• Multiple ways to access routine functions so the touchscreen can be bypassed. Alternative options for common functionality include steering wheel controls, large dials/buttons and voice-command. Which leads me to...
• Full voice control...that actually works!



2013 Ford Fusion volume dial--easy to use and stylish

• Separate audio volume dial--it needs to be separate and larger so I can feel for it. Ford Fusion gets points for this.

Okay now that we're done wondering, time to go wandering.