Steering Wheel Touch & Haptic Interaction System

Designing & delivering a smart trackpad system that replaces physical buttons

Eye-free usability · Accidental touch prevention · Gesture accuracy · Tactile confirmation

Overview

Modern steering wheels are overloaded with physical buttons, increasing cognitive load and reducing usability during driving.

This project explores a new interaction paradigm: replacing traditional button-based input with a unified smart trackpad system that combines gesture interaction, haptic feedback, and tactile surface design.

The solution was developed from early research to embedded prototype and later implemented in production vehicles.

My Role

Led end-to-end interaction design and system concept development
Defined gesture interaction model and mapping logic
Conducted human factors research and usability validation
Designed haptic feedback system by outputting embedded prototype.
Coordinated across design, engineering and stakeholders

Key Problem

How might we simplify steering wheel interaction while maintaining functionality, safety, and tactile feedback?

High Cognitive Load

Too many physical buttons

Safety Risk

Difficult to operate w/o looking

Hard to Extend New features

Limited scalability

Lack of consistency

across interaction patterns

Research

Insights • Benchmark

Studied steering wheel designs across automotive brands · Compared physical vs touch interaction trade-offs · Identified gaps in scalability and intuitiveness

Hand reach zones on steering wheel

Gesture comfort and frequency

Interaction during driving (eyes-free scenarios)

Pressure and tactile perception

Human Factors Study

Outcome

Defined optimal gesture zones and interaction patterns for safe operation.

Exploration & Prototyping

Mobile Simulation

Simulated trackpad using smartphone · Tested gesture patterns · Explored function mapping

Embedded Prototype

Built functional prototype using embedded system · Integrated gesture input with haptic feedback · Simulated real driving interaction conditions

Before

Outcome

Successfully implemented into production vehicles

Reduced interaction complexity on steering wheel

Improved driver safety and usability

Established a scalable interaction model for future features

Key Takeaways

After

Haptic feedback is critical for eyes-free interaction
Simplifying interaction does not mean reducing capability
Iterative prototyping is essential for validating new interaction paradigms

Complex systems require integration of hardware, software, and human factors

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