Dashboard/Steering Wheel Rationale

1. Ignition

This is only used upon the initial start of the car and at the very end of the session. It should not be interacted with while the car is in motion.

2. Gear (3 position)

Gears (forward, neutral, reverse) should only be changed when the car is stopped.

A Joystick may be considered, although more connections would be required.

3. Car Reset

This definitely should not be interacted with while the car is moving as it could cause some undesired behavior as the systems come back online.

4. Hazards

Hazard light functionality is required by regulations but is unlikely to be needed very frequently, so this can be relegated to the dashboard.

1. Regen Enable

We may not always want to use regenerative braking. The exact implementation still requires a lot of research and it will need a lot of tuning in alignment with the mechanical brakes. In case of any unpredictable or undesirable behavior, the driver should have the ability to quickly disable/enable regen.

2. Cruise Set/Enable

3. Cruise Increment

4. Cruise Decrement

Cruise Control is a feature that allows the driver to drive without their foot constantly on the pedal. To further this goal, we can also allow the driver to enable this feature without moving their hands away from the wheel.

5. One Pedal Mode Enable

One Pedal Mode is an optional drive mode that allows the driver to drive using only the accelerator pedal where pushing down accelerates and letting go breaks. The driver should be able to enable this feature mid-drive and therefore should have access to it without taking their hands off of the wheel.

6. Turn signal (3 position)

Turns signal will be a three position switch on the steering. This is the “gold standard.“ If using buttons, there would be no way to turn off the indicators without having to push the button again, which is more work for the driver because they would have to check the display and then hit the button as opposed to simply toggling by feel.

Previously, we wanted to use buttons: Turn signals are turned on frequently while the car is in motion. We previously handled this with a three-way switch on the dashboard which required the driver to take their hands off of the wheel. We will now have two buttons directly on the steering wheel to activate the turn signals (similar to a Tesla).