The automotive industry is studying the advantages of having a sensory steering wheel

Road safety could be increased by installing a sensory steering wheel such as the one that Jaguar-Land Rover proposes

. Stimulating the driver promotes safety. On the contrary, among the factors that negatively affect driving, besides sleepiness and fatigue, monotony or routine when driving a car can end up causing relaxation and a drop in attention.

Taking in information activates the brain and, consequently, increases intellectual activity by processing those stimuli and reacting to them.

This fact, confirmed by science and by anyone who has spent several hours at the wheel on a soporific solo journey through a monotonous landscape, knows that the best way to avoid drowsiness or lack of attention is to encounter stimuli while driving, but controlled and of low intensity so that they do not distract from the actual task of operating the vehicle.

Thus, from the technology centre of Jaguar-Land Rover it has been proposed to promote road safety by stimulating the driver of one of its cars through the production and delivery of sensory impulses while the steering wheel is being operated.

Something as simple as a change in temperature triggers the activation of the receptor cells in the skin which, through the cells of the nervous system, inform the brain of that change. This stimulus will always lead to a reaction: acting or not acting, but it implies intellectual activation and, therefore, will lead to a response that can range from the simple processing of the information and its dismissal to a response from the locomotor system to modify the situation.

The steering wheel that interacts with the person who holds it

The sensory steering wheel of Jaguar-Land Rover has thermal zones that change temperature within a margin of six degrees.

The drop or rise in degrees would alert the driver to the approach of a turn, a lane change or, it is even proposed to increase its functionality by warning of the proximity of a point of interest on the planned route or of a low fuel or battery level.

The direct application has not yet been defined, as it is still at the study stage, but according to Jaguar-Land Rover, moderate thermal stimuli are more effective and better accepted in the tests carried out than the usual beeps or vibrations which, instead of encouraging attention, put the driver on alert.

Furthermore, as it is a tactile stimulus related to an already familiar indication, it would not be necessary to take your eyes off the road, which would improve safety while driving.