Though touchscreen computers are popping up virtually everywhere; from bedrooms to office buildings; nowhere has their growth been more apparent than in the car and truck industry. Today, virtually every car from top of the line luxury models down through stripped down entry-level vehicles, comes equipped with some sort of touchscreen display. Since they don’t require special molding or tooling, and simple, open-source software makes them easy to adapt to any situation, embedded touchscreens have become the option of choice to replace entertainment consoles, instrument clusters, and anything else on a vehicle that must display info or interact with the driver.
Of course, automotive consoles started much more simply, simply as a place to mount a gauge or two, and the earliest form of automotive entertainment, the AM radio. Check out today’s infographic for more information.
The most interesting stat in that graphic may be that the first touchscreen appeared in a US produced vehicle as early as 1986. Yes, it’s true – and Buick went to great lengths to play up the technological leap of their automotive touchscreen technology.
Thankfully, today we’ve moved beyond CRTs and ancient, electromesh based touchscreens. Todays automotive displays are generally high quality LCDs or OLEDs with sensitive capacitive screens that can serve a vehicle’s every purpose, with fractional space and energy requirements.
Estone Tech is a leader in tablet and touchscreen technology designed for automobile consoles, vehicle integration, and much more. Contact us today for solutions.