The actuator consists of a camshaft, with soft material around it. This means that the outer shell of the steeringwheel is flexible, so movement of the camshaft inside can be felt by the user. The movement of our actuator is much more subtle than a vibration actuator would be. Our usertest also stated that the learnability is quite good, because users quickly connect the actuator movement to danger, or a car passing through the blindspot. If you are interested, you can download the full report on our design below:
In my project 1 I designed an actuator for a steeringwheel, based on a soft material. In this project, I developed my coordination skills, quite a bit, because I often coordinated our meetings and prototyping. I really liked this project, because I could apply everything I had learned so far. We designed an actuator, incorporated into the steeringwheel, which can be used in combination with, among others, a blindspot monitoring system. Our actuator will then move to warn the driver when something is in the blindspot.