At the Chicago Auto Show roughly four years ago, Mercedes showed off a rather nifty looking car, focusing on the ordinarily boring topic of safety. (Yes, I realize safety is important, but I can’t get too too excited about airbags.) Not only did this car have transparent C-pillars, but it also had joystick control. Two joysticks were used in place of the steering wheel: one on the door, and one in place of the gear shift.
Don’t take my word for it. Check it out. It’s an interesting concept, but given how badly people drive with a wheel, I don’t think we can trust ’em with two Suncom joysticks from 1994. -pm
Posted in Cars
Josh April 14, 2008, 5:03 pm
Going along with what “Logic 3:16” input, I believe that if the engine was to simply give out, the joystick would be useless. But what if the two ideas could be combined? A mechanical switch between the two (joy-stick and steering wheel) could be implemented. Then even if the engine did fail, it would take the flip of a switch to be able to steer yourself to safety manually. But where would the two go? Sure you could keep the joystick on the door… But logically, the point would be to rid of the bulk in the driver’s seat anyways — The wheel. There are always complications, followed by contemplation, idealistic thoughts, more logical thoughts, and finally issues of marketing. We will see a difference in this technology, being 2008, soon. If not… who’s to say someone as simple as I couldn’t try something?