Volvo cars with touch controls. Free Technical Library News

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Volvo cars with touch controls

06.03.2014

At the Geneva Motor Show, the Swedish company Volvo introduced a new touch-screen control system for navigator, climate control and other interior functions. Initially, a large touchscreen should appear in the updated XC90, and later - in other models.

At the heart of Volvo's new in-car function management system is a large touchscreen monitor in the center console. A capacitive touchscreen measuring 9 inches diagonally will replace traditional buttons, switches and levers. Using touches on the display and gestures familiar from working with tablets and smartphones, the driver can control the car's electronics, for example, navigator, climate control, multimedia player and phone connected to the system.

The user interface is similar to that used in Windows Phone. Also, support for pop-up notifications also speaks of proximity to mobile platforms.

According to the developers, access to functions is organized on the display in a logical and convenient way, so drivers can use them quickly and at the level of muscle memory. Multimedia and navigation are located in the upper part of the complex, below are the air conditioning and mobile phone control systems. This arrangement is quite typical for many modern cars.

"We've created more than just a large tablet mounted on the center console. It's a digital environment tightly integrated with the car," says Thomas Ingenlath, senior vice president of design at Volvo.

The system works in conjunction with a digital instrument panel, which displays the temperature, current time, navigator tips and other information. The technology also supports voice control.

Volvo will begin installing a new human-machine interface (HMI) on the next generation of its XC90 SUVs. Sales of this car will begin in the fall of 2014. The novelty will appear in other models of the Swedish brand a little later.

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