Remember Iron Man (aka Tony Stark) – the fictional superhero who fights crime in an awesome armor? Well, to create that suit, he used a technology that can be operated simply with hand gestures.
That technology may still be fictional but we have come one step closer to it, thanks to BMW which has come up with AirTouch, which allows the display in a vehicle to be operated like a touchscreen without actually having to make contact with the surface.
The German Automaker will be showcasing AirTouch at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), being held in Las Vegas from 6-9 January 2016.
AirTouch allows intuitive control of entertainment, navigation and communication functions using simple gestures made with a flat hand and recognises which selection and control steps are required next, and displays them in advance. These gestures are picked up by sensors installed between the central console and the rear-view mirror.
A concealed AirTouch button is located on the rim of the steering wheel which lights up when a menu or icon can be activated. One tap of this button can activate the desired program or change a setting.
The passenger also has a button like this positioned on the side sill in the door area. Passengers are therefore able to use one hand to navigate through the menu and the other hand to confirm inputs very quickly.
At the 2015 CES, BMW presented a version of this technology, which required simple movements of a finger to carry out actions such as adjusting the loudness or accepting phone calls and is available as BMW Gesture Control in the new BMW 7 Series.
The rapid advance of networking between the driver and the vehicle is becoming increasingly intensive and is facilitating new services.
Competition between carmakers is no longer limited to look, comfort and speed. Technology has also become a vital criteria and by the looks of it, the future may be a lot cooler than one can imagine.
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