Imagine driving down the road and when it’s time to turn, you feel a subtle bit of vibration from the steering wheel on your hand. No noise, no having to take your eyes off the road, you simply turn when you feel that familiar buzz. That’s the concept, Technology Review reports, behind AT&T’s new haptic (touch sensitive) steering assist. Popular Science says it could do away forever with that annoying voice that comes with the Garmin GPS device.
AT&T Labs, says Technology Review is in the driver’s seat as far as tactile GPS enabled devices are concerned. They’ve been working for several years on different designs meant to overcome the inherent design flaw with most current GPS navigation systems, and that is that they distract the driver to the extent that they sometimes cause accidents. No small thing, as they report that some 3,000 people a year are killed in car accidents that are caused by somebody being distracted by something.
PopSci describes the technology as sensible and based on human characteristics. They skin on the human hand is incredibly sensitive they point out. Just look at how those who cannot see are able to read Braille. The hand and fingers are seemingly connected right into the part of the brain that interacts with the world. No doubt due to hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. Why not take advantage of that fact?
That’s exactly what AT&T is trying to do, Technology Review says. The system is more than just a light buzz under the left hand to indicate it’s time to turn left, or under the right to turn right, it’s an entire code of information that drivers could learn over time. Vibrations could pulse for example, indicating not just which way to turn, but how soon. Or there could be more than one part of the wheel that vibrates, combining them would open up a whole world of communication options as it would create a simple binary output device. Certain combinations could mean that another car is in your blind spot, or that there is trouble ahead. Other combinations could indicate how far till the next rest stop, or to remind you to fill up the gas tank. Other’s yet might let you know you’re getting drowsy.
The system could also be programed to “feel” where your hands are on the steering wheel so that you wouldn’t be forced into holding them at ten and two o’clock.
The new system is still in testing, but because the results thus far have been so promising, it’s likely some form of haptic GPS navigation system will soon show up in new car models.
