Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has been working on car technology for years, though the company has not actually released any of its major transport products. The Google self-driving cars are the most famous Mountain View experiment in the area, but it appears that the firm is working on changing the way that people interact with their cars in more ways than one.
According to a report from BusinessInsider, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is working on a system that would allow drivers to control some of the car’s functions using gestures.
Google car design
The new systems could be used to turn on and off the car’s air conditioning, roll the windows up and down, change the radio station or open the sun roof. The design is reminiscent of the computers in the iconic science fiction film Minority Report.
The introduction of gesture-based interfaces into cars may be part of the Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) attempts to revolutionize the entire automobile industry. Gesture interfaces may form a key part of the Google self-driving car if that vehicle is ever released to the public.
Google strategy
The general consensus on most Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) projects is that the company is trying to get people on the internet for as much time as possible. If the company can develop a car that is able to drive itself, the people using the car will be able to spend their time using Google services and watching Google advertisements.
That is the driving force behind much of the innovation at Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). It’s not clear where the gesture-driven automobile functions fit into that strategy, however. Google says that the systems will be a boon to drivers as it will prove less distracting when they are driving the car themselves.
The gesture-driven car interface is an interesting take on the future of the automobile, but it is just a patent at this stage. Most patents never actually make it into a full product, so the “minority report” Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) car may never actually be seen.
Google is working on changing the way that people approach automobiles. Whether that involves gesture-driven interfaces isn’t clear, but it is an exciting idea. Nobody has quite managed to make gesture technology work yet, so its place in a car might not be assured.
