A few years ago I was at a function talking to Andy Green, Royal Air Force fighter pilot and land speed record holder. Our conversation somehow got on to the controls in his record breaking vehicle – ThrustSSC – as well as the fast jets he flew.
Did he prefer the information presented digitally or by analogue dial. No question about it, dials were desired. Why? Green told me that when you are travelling at speed you have little time to take on board information, so as long as all the ‘needles’ are pointing in the right direction on the dials, all is well.
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“You know instantly if one needle is not pointing where it should,” he told me.
I was reminded of this following the recent release of a report from Frost & Sullivan telling us that traditional analogue instruments in cars will be obsolete by 2021 giving way to hybrid and fully digital instrument clusters with flexible designs that facilitate personalisation.
According to Bosch, the digital instruments fitted up to the 1990s displayed information using vacuum fluorescence display technology and, later, liquid crystal technology, but they have now largely disappeared. Instead, conventional analogue needle instruments are used in combination with displays. At the same time, there is an increase in the size, resolution and colour representation of the displays.
Next-generation Instrument Clusters (ICs), researchers say, will feature customisable dials and advanced LCD quantum dot displays containing detailed, relevant information. Vehicle makers and and tier one suppliers are also working on integrating the centre stack into the IC, thus displaying all necessary data in the driver’s line of sight and reducing distraction.
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By GlobalDataNow, we are only talking five or six years from now. My question is: are we ready for such a dramatic change? Certainly there is a generation coming through likely to find the loss of analogue more acceptable but how many current drivers want to go digital?
Looking back to the 1970s and 1980s, digital clocks and watches took the world by storm – but not for very long. Then came LCD displays and digital read outs in cars……… and they didn’t last long either. Public acceptance was low.
Drivers, it seems, like the calmness of analogue rather than the frantic flickering of numbers and lights.
Despite this, researchers see big growth ahead for digital ICs. So-called ‘hybrid’ ICs – that incorporate both analogue and digital elements – are heading for becoming standard OE fitment in the second half of the decade. “The advanced digital hardware required for high quality graphics is becoming better and cheaper,” says just-auto/QUBE analyst Matthew Beecham.
“The engineers at major suppliers are becoming more creative with solutions that can better deliver relevant information to the driver. There are 3D instrument clusters and virtual or augmented reality innovations that promise to enhance the driver experience and reduce the strain on our eyes. There is plenty going on.”
I still like simple reassurance of seeing the vital display needles pointing where they should though.
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