Analysis: Are touchscreens a good thing?

But touchscreens in cars and smartphones aren’t directly comparable, of course. When considering further limitations on mobile phone usage while driving, the Transport Select Committee ruled out banning hands-free calls. That was despite research suggesting the risks were largely down to the cognitive demands they place on a driver “engaging with someone who is not in their shared environment” rather than the actual operation of the smartphone.

For those involved in touchscreen development, the systems aren’t just styled on smartphones: they’re a way of supplementing them.

“Safety comes in many forms,” said Google’s Harris Ramis, who works on the new Android-based touchscreen operating system, a version of which will be used in all future Volvo and Polestar models. “Today, people pull out their phones and use them while driving anyway, so when we started thinking about safety, we did so from the perspective of ensuring they have access to the services they want that are built for in-car use, to ensure they leave their phones where they need to be.”

Ramis referred to that approach as “driver distraction optimised”. Effectively, this is recognising that people want to use the phone system or music services on their smartphones and finding ways to offer that as safely as possible via a car’s infotainment system. “We spent a lot of time working to ensure the system is built for use while driving, so it doesn’t distract,” said Ramis.

To ensure that, the new Volvo Android system – which will be seen first on the forthcoming XC40 Recharge P8 EV – is a fixed template design, with the basic controls required to be in the same place across all apps, ensuring user familiarity. That applies even to the ‘third-party’ apps that will be offered on Android systems.

Another key function offered by the new Volvo system is voice control, the increasing use of which could remove the need to use a touchscreen or any physical controls. Voice control has been widely in use across car brands for years, with the Volkswagen Group, Mercedes-Benz and BMW all offering their own versions.

Ödgärd Andersson, Volvo’s digital boss, said: “Voice commands make total sense when you’re driving.” Thatcham’s Avery agreed: “It brings clear benefits in keeping the driver’s eyes on the road.”

But he also said: “Functions like this are often built in some years ahead of a model hitting the road and are therefore behind the development curve of [Apple] Siri or [Amazon] Alexa. Where the voice control fails to recognise what the driver is saying, the safety benefits are lost.”

Andersson said that having access to Google Assistant voice control is “a key thing we’re very excited about” with the partnership.

The Google system is being continually developed based on real-world feedback from its use in other smartphone and electronics functions and works with multiple languages and accents. Andersson claimed that “it’s well above anything that’s in any car right now”. She added: “It enables you to speak in a much more natural way, which is a safety feature from our perspective.”