“You have arrived at your destination,” a voice says, and the screen displaying directions to this weekend’s soccer game vanishes. In its place, an expanse of varnished teak.
That’s the vision German automotive supplier Continental AG is pitching to automakers. And when Continental pitches something to automakers, they listen. The company is one of the largest parts suppliers to the global automotive industry, making everything from tires to automated emergency braking systems.
Screens Just Keep Multiplying
The company’s latest pitch is something it calls the ShyTech Display. It pushes back against one of the dominant design trends shaping cars today — the proliferation of screens in our cabins.
Screens are taking over. Even budget cars now routinely use one in place of the driver’s instrument display and a second in the center of the dashboard to control climate and entertainment functions. Luxury cars can boast as many as seven. They appear in front of the front passenger. In front of rear passengers. Folding down from the roof.
Mercedes-Benz even sells a screen that replaces the entire dashboard. The. Entire. Dashboard. Mercedes treats it as a luxury feature, found only on the brand’s most expensive models and for an added fee.
They Could Vanish Until Needed
Instead, the ShyTech Display disappears when not in use. It hides a backlit screen behind a cosmetic layer designed to look and feel like wood, carbon fiber, or leather — the materials that make up the typical car dashboard.
When a screen is needed, the matrix backlight turns the surface into a display. When not needed, it vanishes, leaving what appears a good old-fashioned dashboard or seatback in its place.
No automaker has built the technology into a car yet. But, with designers constantly looking for new ways to differentiate their products, it’s just a matter of time before one rejects the ever-growing-screen design trend and gives us something revolutionary — a car with such a dashboard instead of displays. The displays will be there when they’re needed.
