Autonomous driving technology is coming, and before that, the steering wheel of the car will be the first to change. Tesla's new Model S/X has been fitted with a Yoke rectangular steering wheel, while BMW has also taken out a similar steering wheel.
A few days ago, BMW exposed a new steering wheel design patent, which is not a conventional circular steering wheel, but a rectangular steering wheel similar to Tesla.
At the same time, the difference is that each individually held steering wheel structure, each has a freely rotatable handle, when the car automatically drives, the central part of the steering handle will remain in the standard horizontal position, even when cornering, the handle rotation will always maintain vertical positioning.
Tesla Yoke steering wheel
ACCORDING TO BMW, this new steering wheel (steering handle) is suitable for the automatic driving function of the vehicle, and the main purpose is to get more space through the steering handle.
When the car enters the automatic driving mode, the traditional steering wheel will take up too much space, and the owner can use the original position of the steering wheel to use the tablet to read or process work.
For the driver's regular driving, BMW also makes additional instructions, even if the driver is driving with one hand, it is possible to use this steering wheel, and as can be seen from the example diagram provided by BMW, it is also possible to operate the steering wheel with one hand.