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Gasp... pure touch interfaces aren't what consumers want

jjwolf120

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I think that if Alexa works well, it will alleviate most issues with not having more physical buttons. If it doesn't, then we will be in the same boat as Tesla owners and be slightly annoyed occasionally and have to hunt and peck to find what we want. I do hope they have a physical button for the glove box, though.
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I think that if Alexa works well, it will alleviate most issues with not having more physical buttons. If it doesn't, then we will be in the same boat as Tesla owners and be slightly annoyed occasionally and have to hunt and peck to find what we want. I do hope they have a physical button for the glove box, though.
Unless you're one of those rare people that listen to the radio or one of those weird people who converse with other people in the car...
 

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That's part of it working well. If it can hear and understand your commands while listening to the radio or having a conversation, then it is working well. I don't actually have any experience with Alexa, so I don't know how well it works with background noise. Note that I didn't say it would work well, only that it could, theoretically speaking, work well.
 

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The key is to strike a balance between a touchscreen and physical controls.
If you had to use the touchscreen to activate your turn signals or roll down your window, that would be bad. Having a slide-out keyboard to enter destination info for the nav system would be just as bad.
Most people want controls frequently accessed while driving to be easy to use without taking attention away from the road. Temp/fan controls that reside only on the touch screen seem to generate the most complaints.
Yes the things you adjust most frequently are so much better served by buttons. Temp and fan speed and audio volume and station change. I don't even use my steering wheel volume control in my 2017 Infiniti cause the big volume knob near the touch screen is so easy to grab and has easier adjustment. For the less used functions then touch screen is fine. And of course how they set that touch screen up makes all the difference. My 2015 BMW X1 had the most confusing audio adjustment I have seen. Sold it after 6 months and still didn't know how to use it. The newer touchscreens with large scrolling screens like in the Rivian look much better. I am sure they have considered keeping the more used functions not imbedded 3 steps pleasssssse.
 

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Unless you're one of those rare people that listen to the radio or one of those weird people who converse with other people in the car...
Saying Alexa stops all of that. So it’s not an issue if you’re listening to music or talking to people.
 

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That's part of it working well. If it can hear and understand your commands while listening to the radio or having a conversation, then it is working well. I don't actually have any experience with Alexa, so I don't know how well it works with background noise. Note that I didn't say it would work well, only that it could, theoretically speaking, work well.
It works well. Even with loud music
 
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It works well. Even with loud music
I'll believe it (and be pleasantly surprised) when I see it. Alexa works well with some background noise but It absolutely does not work well with loud music/movies in the house (Fire TV Cube or Echo Dot). Nor do Android Auto or Volvo's voice control work any better in the car.
 
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Saying Alexa stops all of that. So it’s not an issue if you’re listening to music or talking to people.
Two issues there. First, in my experience to date, Alexa does not work well with loud background noise (see my last post above). Most current in car systems struggle with tire noise alone much less loud music.

Second, when conversing with other people, the issue isn't having it "work", the issue is having to interrupt an existing conversation to have a side conversation with Alexa.
 

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@electruck i guess everyone’s experience and expectations will differ here. Seems you have had issues and I have not. I’m hoping that the Rivian won’t be a loud driving experience as you stated about tire noise.
 
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@electruck i guess everyone’s experience and expectations will differ here. Seems you have had issues and I have not. I’m hoping that the Rivian won’t be a loud driving experience as you stated about tire noise.
I too am hoping for low tire noise (at least from the street spec tires) but I'm also hoping Rivian's top spec audio system will be worthy of turning up the volume.
 

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I'm hopeful there will at least be an Alexa button or multifunctional button that queues Alexa on the steering wheel. My hope is that voice recognition software will improve enough that it can discriminate the drivers voice from music , conversation etc.
 

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Looking at numerous pictures of the steering wheel, there appears to be two thumbwheels. They probably control all of the features of the touchscreen. Couple that with voice control and I think I can get used to it.
 
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Looking at numerous pictures of the steering wheel, there appears to be two thumbwheels. They probably control all of the features of the touchscreen. Couple that with voice control and I think I can get used to it.
Yes, steering wheel controls are great for the driver. But the driver isn't always the only person in the vehicle as evidenced by the number of people that require seating for 6-8.

My visually impaired wife should have full access to media controls, seat heater controls, hvac controls, etc from her passenger seat without having to go through me for everything. For her it is more than just an issue of convenience, it is also a matter of independence and dignity. Well thought out applications of technology makes the world far more accessible to her (take the iPhone for example) but naive implementations are exclusionary.
 

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I also am a fan of physical knobs and controls because of safety.

As described in other posts, anything that enables a driver to keep eyes on the road is a good thing.

The more menus to flip through on a touch screen the more time eyes are OFF the road.

A family member has a Model 3, and during a short drive in the summer he had to use the touch screen to control the AC -- and if I remember correctly -- the touchscreen even controlled the direction of the air coming out of the vents. That just seems silly.

Anyone know of studies done about accident rates in vehicles with touch-screen dominant interfaces? I follow what data demonstrate, so if there are data showing touch screen interfaces aren't problematic, then I'm willing to evolve my opinion. Maybe vehicle touch screens are different than "driving and texting", though at first blush it seems that the key metric is what causes driver distraction and eyes off the road and surrounding environment.

Anyway, changing a vent direction seems like something that would never need a software upgrade, except to correct a bug in the original code, in which case that kind of thing seems better suited for physical control in the first place.
 

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Anyone know of studies done about accident rates in vehicles with touch-screen dominant interfaces?
No, but there is this:
https://insideevs.com/news/436912/driver-suspended-adjusting-wiper-speed-model-3/
A recent verdict from Germany will start a fascinating discussion. The Higher Regional Court in Karlsruhe confirmed that a driver would have to be suspended from driving for a month. He was sentenced to that because he drove his Tesla Model 3 into an embankment and hit some trees after trying to adjust the windshield wiper speed on the touchscreen.
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