Golf R Touch: Volkswagen’s Car Of The Future Lets You Control Your World With Gestures

Ever thought you might like a Leap Motion-style device to control what your car does on the inside? Volkswagen has the answer for you in the form of its fancy new future car.

On the surface, it’s a standard Golf R. Sleek, sexy, fast and awfully modern. On the inside, however, it’s some of the most advanced control tech ever made available to drivers. It’s called the Golf R Touch.




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The whole point of the Golf R Touch is to take technologies out of the consumer space and throw them at the car to make controlling complex auto systems easier and less distracting while you drive.

At the heart of the Golf Touch R is three big, beautiful screens. A 12.8-inch high-res display sits in the centre console, displaying your navigation and entertainment content. It gives you haptic feedback when you touch it so you know that you’ve made a selection without taking your eyes off the road. Underneath it, an 8-inch screen replaces all the old analogue dials and switches for things like A/C.

Splitting those two screens is a Multi-Touch Slider. The Slider allows you to change things like volume, balance and fader with a swipe of your hand, and the use of one, two or three fingers.

You can also gesture with your hand to do things on the car. A 3D camera mounted in the roof recognises your gestures and executes actions based on visual cues. For example, wave your hand backwards or forward on the roof and the sunroof will either open or close. Volume can be lowered by holding your hand flat in front of the screen and making a push-down gesture.




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The instrument cluster has been replaced by a completely digital, 12.3-inch display, which shows off everything from your RPM to your speed, through to other information like navigation.

Elsewhere, the car also has proximity sensors to illuminate buttons only when you move your hand closer to it.

Ultimately, VW wants to keep your eyes on the road while you control your vehicle. That’s the point of all the future-tech in the Golf R.

No word on Australian release dates yet, but I know I want one.


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