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  • 99% Invisible-37- The Steering Wheel

Episode 37- The Steering Wheel

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(cc photo by Nate Steiner)

If I asked you to close your eyes and mimic the action of using one of the simple human interfaces of everyday life, you could probably do it. Without having a button to push, you could close your eyes and pretend push a button, and that action would accurately reflect the action of pushing a real button. The same goes for flipping a switch or turning a door knob. If you closed your eyes and faked the movement, it would sync up with its real world use.

Now if I asked you to do the same with a car’s steering wheel, you’d think you’d be able to describe steering accurately and mime the correct movements with your hands in the air, but you’d be wrong. Very, very wrong. You’d probably kill a bunch of imaginary people.

Our friends at Humans in Design, Tristan Cooke and Tom Nelson, bring us this story about how our brain knows how to steer without really knowing how to steer, and what that means for steering wheel design. They interviewed Dr. Steve Cloete, from The University of Queensland, who conducted the awesome blind driver studies.

Source: SoundCloud / Roman Mars

  • 7 months ago
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A tiny radio show about design, architecture & the 99% invisible activity that shapes our world.

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New episodes released every 10-14 days, airing weekly on 91.7 KALW in San Francisco. Fridays at 7:35am and 4:44pm, Saturdays at 8:35am, and Tuesdays at 10:55pm. Also, 24/7 on Public Radio Remix. Distributed by PRX.

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