Bosch unveils world's first curved instrument cluster on a production car

Bosch's latest offering to the next generation of cockpit design will make its debut in the 'Innovision Cockpit' of the new Volkswagen Touareg. 

In the world of fast-evolving car technology, Bosch has brought to the party world's first-ever curved instrument cluster which aims at providing the driver with better viewing capabilities along with more freedom of choosing what information he/she wants to see in front of him/her while driving. Commenting on the breakthrough, Steffen Berns, President of Car Multimedia division at Bosch said, 'The days of flat instrument displays are over. With the world’s first curved instrument cluster, Bosch is opening up a new dimension in vehicle cockpits.' To mark the innovative concept's debut, Bosch has partnered with Volkswagen in order to feature the curved instrument cluster on the new Touareg. Depending on what the driver wants to see at any given time, the screen can be toggled to display information such as large-area navigation maps, vehicle information or the status of the assistance systems.

Bosch's new instrument cluster offers a sharper display with higher contrast, thanks to a high-tech manufacturing process called 'optical bonding', which involves a thin liquid film used to bond the instrument display and glass directly to each other. This process also makes the cluster reflect four times less light than a conventional flat-screen cluster, even in broad daylight. The curvature of the cluster screen mimics the natural curvature of the human eye, which allows the driver to detect indicator and warning lights without any hassle even on the edge of the screen. For the driver, this means that there is virtually no glare and the display is rich in contrast and clear in both direct sunlight and darkness.

With the growing interest of car makers towards the use of digital screens in place of conventional switches and knobs, the curved digital cluster from Bosch becomes a viable alternative while also saving a few centimetres of space as compared to a conventional flat cluster of the same size. Apart from clever construction, the curved instrument cluster also allows the driver to choose what information he/she wants to view. The 12.3-inch screen can be also be used to display a single type of information over the entire screen or in combination with some other. All of this can be achieved with the help of the toggle buttons placed on the multifunction steering wheel.