New Delhi: Multiple touchscreen or displays are quite the rage with manufacturers today. However, bundling basic features like HVAC inside the touchscreen is not quite ideal and frankly quite dangerous when you are moving fast. China seems to agree with this sentiment as they are now taking aim at the ultra minimalist, screen dominated interiors favored by giants like Tesla Inc. and Xiaomi Corp.
The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has released a set of proposed regulations that requires essential safety functions to be controlled by actual physical switches. This move marks a direct challenge to the design trends adopted by Chinese EV makers such as BYD Co. It comes right after China became the first country to ban concealed door handles on EVs earlier this month due to safety concerns.
Physical Buttons are Coming Back
According to the new proposal, critical controls must be physical and tactile. The government said that functions including turn signals, hazard lights, gear selection and emergency calling must have fixed buttons. The regulation is actually quite specific about the design. It says these switches must have a minimum surface size of 10mm x 10mm.
This is big news because manufacturers have been saving money by moving everything to software. Now they will have to redesign their dashboards to meet these safety norms.
New Rules for Self Driving Tech
Beyond the dashboard buttons, the government is strictly codifying safety expectations for high level driver assistance technology.
Level 3 and Level 4 automated systems must demonstrate a safety level equivalent to a competent and attentive human driver.
Manufacturers need to provide a “safety case” proving their systems can handle high risk scenarios.
If a system fails or the driver ignores a request to take over, the vehicle must be capable of stopping itself safely.
The proposal also formalized remote assistance for fully automated cars, which allows human operators to intervene in complex environments. These changes are open for public comment until April 13.