A movable knob puts a tactile twist on the modern touch screen car dashboard

Touch screens are great and all, but they aren’t always the best solutions for controlling things, especially when you need to keep one hand on the dash and both eyes on the road.

The cars of the future are imagined to have almost no physical controls. They might not even have steering wheels if the promise of self-driving vehicles gets fulfilled perfectly. Buttons and knobs will be a thing of the past, replaced by slick screens you can simply glide your finger on. Reality, however, still needs to catch up with our imaginations, and our fingers and hands are still critical in how we interact with cars.

Designer: Gabor Jutasi

Touch screens provide more controls and functionality in a small amount of space, while buttons, dials, and switches are not only limited functionality but also restricted by the laws of physics. Until we finally make tactile touch screens a reality, however, there is one thing that physical controls can do that touch screens can’t provide. More often than not, you don’t have to look at a button to know that it’s on or off, nor do you have to look at a dial when twisting its knob.

This “no look” functionality is critically important when driving, where your eyes should be on the road, not the touch screen. At the same time, we can’t feasibly turn back the clock on car dashboards, so we need a compromise that takes these needs and limitations into account. Enter the Electric Car Dashboard, where a simple, movable knob does the trick.

Actually, that knob is anything but simple and is a sophisticated device on its own. It has a dynamic display on the top that changes its content depending on where you place it on the dash. It also acts as a button you can push to access more functionality that would otherwise require a second knob.

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The idea is that this dial gives drivers the necessary physical control they can turn in order to adjust the volume or the temperature without even looking at the screen. The knob’s function isn’t fixed, however, and you can move it to a different portion of the screen to make it control a different setting, like skipping to the next or previous track in a playlist. And in case there’s more than just one setting in that position, you push the knob’s button to switch to the next set.

This kind of multi-functional dynamic knob isn’t just a concept, though. Microsoft already demonstrated this in action with the Surface Dial. Of course, there are plenty of things to iron out with this Electric Car Dashboard concept, and it isn’t a foolproof solution either. It is, however, a very interesting one that creatively combines the digital and the physical in a way that doesn’t compromise one or the other.

The post A movable knob puts a tactile twist on the modern touch screen car dashboard first appeared on Yanko Design.

Royole’s flexible display technology could one day turn your car’s glove box into an interactive dashboard

Royole Flexible Display Car Dashboard

The company has very rapidly realized it isn’t in the foldable phones business… it’s in the foldable everything business.

Images have surfaced on the internet of a rather interesting concept employing Royole‘s flexible display technology. Created by Zhiyuan Xing, a designer based out of Shenzhen, the Flexible Car Dashboard poses an interesting hot-take – what if instead of doors on a glove compartment, you just had a display that bent open like a curtain? The Flexible Car Dashboard explores that very possibility, creating an interactive display in an area that would otherwise be a utilitarian panel of knobs and compartments.

Royole Flexible Display Car Dashboard

The panel is a long, vertical display that folds open from the top as well as the bottom, revealing storage areas and charging spots underneath. The display sits in place via magnetic closures that allow it to snap shut, and when you want to access the space underneath, unfold it as if you were turning a page or lifting the edge of a carpet. The GIF above should really help demonstrate how incredibly handy and innovative it is.

Royole Flexible Display Car Dashboard

Joined to the car’s dashboard at the center, the display opens both ways. The upper part has a tray-style design, letting you keep your phones in it (potentially even being able to wirelessly charge them or UV sanitize them), while the lower part is almost like a box to dump other items you need but are less likely to use (charging cables, AirTag, earphones, power bank, etc).

Royole Flexible Display Car Dashboard

Royole Flexible Display Car Dashboard

A crucial part of the display’s design is its lip, which lets you easily get a grip and open it outwards. The display comes mounted on a thick layer of some kind of elastomer, giving it some resistance (so you don’t damage it by tugging too hard), while a magnetic closure system allows the flap to satisfyingly snap shut. The display even knows when to switch off when you’re bending it, helping protect it against any accidental damage. It switches back on when shut, displaying the screen where it last left off.

Royole Flexible Display Car Dashboard

Royole Flexible Display Car Dashboard

Royole Flexible Display Car Dashboard

What this concept presents is something rather remarkable, and a fresh design direction from Royole, which hasn’t really seen much success in the doldrums that is the folding phone industry. A flexible dashboard display, however, would be a great way to expand its catalog while proposing something that isn’t really a novelty, but instead is a very interesting feature. The area where the Royole Flexible Car Dashboard would sit is essentially purely functional – currently occupied by a radio (which people hardly use), AC air vents (which could easily be relocated), and perhaps a slot for a car charger. The Flexible Car Dashboard proposes we use that space for something better, something more cutting-edge with upcoming cars. Designed as a dashboard that could easily see itself integrated into smart-cars or semi-autonomous cars, it gives you a large sprawling screen that’s ideal for accessing the car’s smart features like the Map, Music Player, or other in-car controls. Fold it over and you’ve got the benefit of storage too! Storage, might I add, that would escape the sight of most thieves!

Designer: Zhiyuan Xing

Royole Flexible Display Car Dashboard

Royole Flexible Display Car Dashboard

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