Jaguar Land Rover Develops Sensory Steering Wheel

Jaguar Land Rover has developed a sensory steering wheel in collaboration with the University of Glasgow. It will heat up sections of its rim to communicate with the driver.

Jaguar Land Rover's sensory steering wheel uses thermal stimulation instead of vibrations. The steering wheel, which was developed in collaboration with the University of Glasgow, will send warnings to the driver by means of heating up specific sections of its rim. The manufacturer has named fuel running low, upcoming events, such as points of interest on the side of the road, or cues in navigation as some examples of these warnings. 

In navigation, the left part of the steering wheel could be heated up by up to six degrees Celsius in the area of the "10 minutes to 3" position to warn the driver of an upcoming left turn. Both sides of the steering wheel could heat up simultaneously, if the driver would have to drive straight on after a roundabout. The temperature can be individually adjusted. "Research has shown people readily understand the heating and cooling dynamics to denote directions and the subtlety of temperature change can be perfect for certain feedback that doesn't require a more intrusive audio or vibration-based cue," says Alexandros Mouzakitis, Jaguar Land Rover Electrical Research Senior Manager.