2:24 AM
Diana D'Cruz
Perhaps future GPS and other modules infotainment equipping our cars will command a gesture, without contact, as with a Kinect. Farewell buttons and touch screens ...
It is in any case that Pioneer has just introduced at CEATEC 2012. Raku Navi module, which can be installed in an after market double-din slot center console is a GPS navigation system which is controlled by simple hand movements.
The device is equipped with infrared sensors to detect movement and show different menus. Once the hand has reclaimed its place on the steering wheel, the display automatically returns to the default display, namely GPS navigation.
The module is programmable, and it is not totally hands-free, you can assign a function to a horizontal movement of the hand. Four models install in any console will be available in early November in Japan, but it is unclear at this time if they will be available in other countries.
Remains to be seen that this device brings a truly innovative safety and ergonomics, the two being intimately linked in a car.
