STAMFORD, CT--September 24, 2012: People are addicted to their mobile phones and tablets. But what happens when they want to go truly mobile in an automobile? In this recent article in the tech news site GigaOM.com, Robert Acker, general manager of Aha by Harman, argues that the challenge is to deliver the mobile apps and services that consumers want in a way that makes safety the top priority.
Acker notes that banning cell phone use or texting is unlikely to work. Consumers simply don't want to cut themselves off from these useful communications, entertainment, and productivity devices for the 15 or more hours spent inside a car each week. At the same time, the current practices of millions of drivers poking, swiping, and typing on touch screens of their mobile devices is worrysome at best.
To do that, Acker suggests automakers and their suppliers must look beyond interface design and consider human behavior. For generations, drivers have managed to stay relatively safe while reaching for the volume knob on a car radio, or pushing a present button. The key will be to map a diverse array of new digital services and applications to familiar human behaviors that minimize the distractions for the driver.
To read the full text of the article, visit GigaOM:
