Motorists will soon be able to adjust temperature or entertainment settings with ‘predictive touch’, a contactless touchscreen system that improves driver safety and could reduce the spread of viruses.

Developed by Jaguar Land Rover and Cambridge University, the patented predictive touch technology is said to use artificial intelligence and sensors to predict a user’s intended target on the touchscreen – such as sat nav – without touching a button.
Interview: Elizabeth Hill of Jaguar Land Rover
Lab-tests and on-road trials showed the predictive touch technology could reduce a driver’s touchscreen interaction effort and time by up to 50 per cent, as well as limiting the spread of bacteria and viruses in a post COVID-19 world.
According to Jaguar Land Rover, artificial intelligence determines the item the user intends to select on the screen early in the pointing task, speeding up the interaction. The company add that a gesture tracker uses vision-based or radio frequency-based sensors to combine contextual information such as user profile, interface design and environmental conditions with data available from other sensors, such as an eye-gaze tracker, to infer the user’s intent in real time.
In a statement, Lee Skrypchuk, Human Machine Interface Technical Specialist, at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “As countries around the world exit lockdown, we notice how many everyday consumer transactions are conducted using touchscreens: railway or cinema tickets, ATMs, airport check-ins and supermarket self-service checkouts, as well as many industrial and manufacturing applications. Predictive touch technology eliminates the need to touch an interactive display and could therefore reduce the risk of spreading bacteria or viruses on surfaces.
“The technology also offers us the chance to make vehicles safer by reducing the cognitive load on drivers and increasing the amount of time they can spend focused on the road ahead.”
This software-based solution for contactless interactions is said to be at high technology readiness levels and can be integrated into existing touchscreens and interactive displays, provided the correct sensory data is available to support the machine learning algorithm.
Project leader Prof Simon Godsill from Cambridge University’s Department of Engineering said: “Touchscreens and other interactive displays are something most people use multiple times per day, but they can be difficult to use while in motion, whether that’s driving a car or changing the music on your phone while you’re running. We also know that certain pathogens can be transmitted via surfaces, so this technology could help reduce the risk for that type of transmission.”
I haven’t even read the article – just the title and I can’t help myself jump straight into a bit of a soapbox that I hate touchscreens for basic controls – one older car i have has cunningly designed controls such that when all the knob webs are vertical that is 22 degC, auto fan speed and windscreen & feet exits – so, when I’m driving at night over mountain passes with changing conditions and deer on the road I can, without even taking my eyes off the road for a moment, adjust the temperature or the fan with zero distraction. Newer one is touch screen and the article above probably highlights their shortcomings: having to take eyes of road multiple times to try and get to right place on screen, once in the correct screen… do the folk that drive the design never drive themselves I have to wonder? Will it be cyclic and the sense of having some basic controls that need no distraction come back into “fashion”.
I better read the article now and post a retraction 😉
Why not just perfect voice control…..? then you can keep both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. works for ALEXA
My Prius had voice control for quite a few functions back in 2005. But it was a quiet car!
Most modern cars are carrying around lots of kit and systems that are not vital or used. The old adage of “Keep it simple stupid” should be exercised a bit more. I don’t want to know the time or weather in Ulan Bator or the wet haddock future’s market. Basic driving/mechanical monitors are all that is needed. I believe Alex Issigonis was opposed to radios in cars. That gets my vote.
If predictive text messaging is anything to go by it will be a very long time before this is any use!