After reporting stories and videos about the new Lexus Remote Touch system, I had the chance yesterday to try the technology for myself — and managed to record it despite my (noticeable) excitement:
Being an interface technology, there’s really no way to describe the haptic feedback feeling, save to say that it’s intuitive and incredibly responsive. Jumping from menu-item to menu-item brought to mind pushing a computer mouse up against a stretched rubber-band. Combined with the screen placed higher up in the dash, the Remote Touch system allows the driver to interact with the system through peripheral vision, almost through feel only.
As you can tell from the video, I was almost too impressed — and all the more once I started playing with equivalent BMW, Mercedes and Audi systems. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Remote Touch system will be duplicated in force over the next few years. It’s that good. If you were at all concerned about its usability compared to the touchscreen, you need not worry at all.
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