And add a lot of buttons on the inside of the steering wheel
Volkswagen filed a patent for a new steering wheel design with controls instead of paddle shifters mounted on the inside of the steering wheel.
According to the patent, buttons will be located on the inside of the steering wheel rim. They can be physical or sensory. The number of buttons is not strictly fixed.
Volkswagen refers to the buttons on the left as first controls and those on the right as second controls. After the first touch, the steering wheel highlights the available options on the left. The driver can then choose between different functions such as high beam, brightness, dimming or activating the fog lights.
The buttons can also control music playback and other infotainment and cruise control functions.
Volkswagen claims the system is safer because you don’t have to take your hands off the wheel to access a wide range of features. It also gives designers more freedom. In addition, with the introduction of a new universal system, designers will not have to develop a separate set of steering column switches for each new model.
It is not yet clear when such a system will appear in real machines.
