- Rivian’s software chief has rebuked criticism of modern touchscreens, describing the use of buttons to operate features as an “anomaly.”
- Wassym Bensaid told TechCrunch that improving voice activation through AI was the best way forward for in-car tech.
- Bensaid said Rivian wants to make every touchscreen operation possible through voice control.
Automakers are in love with touchscreens, but some drivers aren’t convinced. The naysayers claim too many new-car functions are now hidden in touchscreens and they want physical buttons, which studies say are easier to use, to make a comeback. But Rivian’s software boss thinks buttons are yesterday’s news, calling them an “anomaly” at a recent tech conference.
The EV firm’s chief software officer Wassym Bensaid was speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt when he hit back at those who want more old-fashioned hard keys in their car interiors.
Related: Has Touchscreen Tech Gone Too Far? Euro NCAP Thinks So
“It’s a bug. It’s not a feature,” TechCrunch reported Bensaid saying. “Ideally, you would want to interact with your car through voice. The problem today is that most voice assistants are just broken.”
That’s something we at Carscoops can agree with. Although almost every new car now has some kind of voice assistant, in our experience the chances of many of those cars understanding what you’re telling them is so hit-and-miss that it’s just not worth the effort.
But Bensaid predicts that will change soon, and he’s not just talking about your car being able to understand you when you ask it to turn the climate control down a couple of degrees or change the radio station on the infotainment system. He said Rivian’s goal is to make every single feature currently operated via a touchscreen to also be available by voice and to even have your car suggest a restaurant if you say you’re hungry.
But there’s one bit of tech Bensaid and Rivian have no plans to offer any time soon: Apple CarPlay. Though he conceded that the Rivian team continues to debate CarPlay’s omission, he described using the Apple system as “laziness” and is convinced Rivian can deliver a “more refined, integrated experience” by developing its own tech and cherry-picking select apps such as Apple Music.
Is Bensaid right that improved voice AI is a better answer than bringing buttons back, or would you like both to make an appearance in your next new car?
