Why Volvo Is Going Touch-Screen, But Skipping Capacitive Tech Entirely

Volvo’s new Sensus Connect Touch system in the 2016 Volvo XC90 is one of this year’s great breakthroughs in vehicle interfaces.

While it borrows much of the look and feel of its menus from tablets—especially Apple’s iOS in its iPhone and iPad—it’s definitely not the way that we would have guessed the automaker taking, even as recently as a few years ago.

ALSO SEE: Video Shows Just How Distracted Teen Drivers Can Get

Several key decisions separate Sensus from a number of other infotainment interfaces on the market; and they represent several about-faces for Volvo.

One of them is Volvo’s decision to turn and embrace touch screens, after going on the record some years back that they weren’t the best idea.

A reason for this, Volvo’s safety chief, Jan Ivarsson said, in an interview this past month at the Geneva Motor Show, is that drivers really aren’t any more distracted today than they’ve been in the past. And for automakers to be scolding, or to make it difficult to accomplish tasks like calling or perhaps reading a text, isn’t in the interest of safety.

Ivarsson says that in certain kinds of driving, drivers have been distracted 20 to 25 percent of the time, as measured by the automaker’s ongoing studies of behavioral patterns. And that’s the same today as it was before advanced infotainment systems.

Distraction is a given, so let’s work with it

“You’re looking at a curve, at the trees; you’re doing something with the center stack; you’re doing something with the radio; people are eating,” said Ivarsson. “It’s human behavior; and what we have to understand is, this is the equation, and during that time you’re doing other things, we need to do things that will take you back to the urgent situation.”

“On the highway you’re getting bored, and you’re taking this 20-25 percent,” said Ivarsson, noting that with things happening faster on the highway, the goal is to keep the driver relaxed, yet prepared to be more engaged.

“This phone, I have it a half-meter from my pillow when I’m sleeping. In the morning, I look at the weather and can check news, and just reach for it,” said Ivarsson. “If I’m in the car, it can’t be like a prison.”