illuminated light shape indicates the
high-beams are on.
Now, however, it is about monitor-
ing, as well, such as lane-keeping
assist telling the driver where she's
keeping within the lane markers;
adaptive cruise control reporting
back on the speed relative to the
vehicle ahead.
"As we move closer to automated
driving," Matschi says, "we want
to know if the system is in
command and control. This means
we need to provide additional
information to the driver."
And he adds, "More things will
come"
So this means that the human-
machine interface—a.k.a., the instru-
ment panel—is something that
is going to become all the more
critical in vehicles. While people want
and need some information, there
are limits to the amount of informa-
tion that can be displayed before it
becomes confusing or meaningless.
"The head of our human-machine
interface activities is not a hard-
ware guy, nor is he a software guy.
He's a psychologist," Matschi says.
Talking of the way that the inter-
faces and systems are developed,
Matschi says, "We grew up when
OEMs were doing the specifca-
tions. When it comes to instrument
clusters, it is usually the technical
functions that are done by speci-
fcation, but the design and
appearance are very dynamic.
I can hardly remember one
product that stayed the same from
sourcing to start of production."
And they learned about infotain-
ment and connectivity—things well
beyond gauges that show speed
and revs and oil pressure and
such—and about how the consumer
electronics industry was bringing
out products at a pace that was
leaving automotive in the dust.
Matschi says their strategy is
based on three main pillars: the
human-machine interface, to
inform the driver; connectivity (he
says they have 26-million tele-
matics control units on the road,
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