Volkswagen has used the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas to show off what could possibly be the future of its infotainment controls, débuting the high-tech interior in a concept called the Golf R Touch.
The CES concept star seemingly takes it inspiration from the Tesla Model S, as the Golf uses two massive screens in the dashboard to control pretty much everything in the car - to the detriment of good old-fashioned switchgear. One of these screens is 12.8 inches in size, the other is an eight-inch item called the Control Centre. The former handles multimedia and internet browsing, while the latter replaces proper buttons for things such as the heater controls with more touchscreen goodness.
However, the big news here isn't so much the touchscreens themselves but that the software recognises hand gestures (no, not that sort of hand gesture, thank you); so, for example, if you go to touch the roof, the car brings up the sunroof controls on the touchscreen. Further forward or backward sweeps of the hand will open or close the sunroof accordingly and it can read such gestures for other in-car controls too. It does this thanks to a 3D camera mounted in the roof lining and complicated sensor set-ups.
Anything else?
Whether this sort of advanced cabin will make it to market in time for the Golf Mk8 remains to be seen, but Volkswagen claims the R Touch feature will appear in customer cars before 2020.