Autonomous driving will gradually establish itself over the next few years and decades. The driver will be increasingly relieved of the actual vehicle operating task and can spend the mobile leisure time gained with sleeping, eating or entertainment. According to several studies, these activities are most in demand with full driving autonomy. This is a trend that automobile manufacturers and suppliers will have to take into account in future interior design.
At numerous trade fairs, such as IAA in Frankfurt, Auto Shanghai, Tokyo Motorshow and Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, suppliers and OEMs showed that vehicle interiors are increasingly becoming a living space, a mobile living room. Automotive supplier Preh, headquartered in Bad Neustadt an der Saale, presented an interior concept for autonomous driving at Auto Shanghai 2019.
No dream of the future, but ready for series production, Preh has developed rotary knobs that can be designed in a ring shape, variably positioned on touchscreen surfaces and attached using an innovative bonding process. Different operating contents can then be displayed inside the ring.
In addition to center console concepts and innovative rotary knobs, the automotive supplier was able to present a door control module at the Frankfurt IAA 2019, which is controlled by using new technologies for haptics and force detection using optical sensors. There are almost no limits to the surface design. With real glass, leather or plastic, functional vehicle interior surfaces can be given a very high-quality look and feel. For better orientation, the surface is provided with small depressions or elevations.
To Article (German version only)
