FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Norvane Motors today announces the all-new Axiom, the first family hatchback to let the driver switch on the windscreen wipers with a single press of a finger, without first locating a settings icon, a sub-menu, or a panel mysteriously labelled ‘Visibility Experience’.
The innovation, known internally as ‘the Button’, has been three years in development and is expected to transform the way motorists interact with their vehicles, particularly in the rain, which in Britain is most of the time.
A Tactile Feedback Experience
Unlike a flat panel of glass, the Button is a physical object that sits proud of the dashboard. Drivers simply locate it by touch, press it, and receive what Norvane engineers describe as a ‘tactile feedback experience’. In plain terms, it feels like something happened, because something did.
Early testers were reportedly moved. One described the sensation as ‘like being told, gently, that the thing you wanted has been done’.
World-First Haptic Confirmation Click
Each Button press is accompanied by a satisfying mechanical ‘click’, which Norvane has proudly trademarked as the Haptic Confirmation Click. The company believes it is the first time a car has confirmed an action by making it unmistakably obvious that the action has occurred.
‘We wanted drivers to have total certainty,’ said Priya Nair, Head of Human-Centred Interaction at Norvane. ‘In testing, people pressed the Button, heard the click, and then looked up to see the wipers moving. Several of them said ‘oh!’ out loud. One of them applauded, though to be fair he had been stuck outside Leicester Forest East for forty minutes.’
Built for the British Rainstorm
The Axiom has been engineered with real-world conditions in mind. Anyone who has ever driven down the M6 in a downpour, one hand on the wheel, the other jabbing at a glossy screen smeared with the fingerprints of a toddler and a Frube, in search of the heated seat control, will appreciate the significance.
The Axiom also features dedicated buttons for the hazard lights, the horn, the indicators and the volume, which Norvane confirms can all be found without taking your eyes off the road, or, in the case of the volume, without having to swipe through a carousel of album covers.
‘We are genuinely humbled to have rediscovered 1994. It was a remarkable year for dashboards, and we feel we have learned so much from it.’ Charlotte Pemberton, Chief Visionary Officer, Norvane Motors
Ms Pemberton added that the team had initially explored a ‘voice-activated wiper concept’, but abandoned it after the car repeatedly responded to ‘wipers’ by calling her sister.
Early Customer Reaction
Reaction from the Axiom’s first customers has been overwhelmingly positive. Colin Ashworth, 58, a heating engineer from Stockport who took part in the pre-launch trial, said the experience had restored his faith in motoring.
‘I pressed the wiper button and the wipers came on,’ said Mr Ashworth. ‘Straight away. I didn’t have to pull into a lay-by and read the manual. I nearly cried, to be honest, and I’m a man who once sat through a Wales rugby defeat without blinking.’
The announcement comes as safety bodies, including Euro NCAP, prepare to reward cars that keep physical controls for essentials such as indicators, wipers and the horn. Norvane says it welcomes the move, and that it has always believed in putting the driver first, ever since approximately last Thursday.
Availability
The Axiom will arrive in showrooms this spring in a choice of five colours, all of which will show every speck of dirt. Buttons are included as standard, at no extra cost, and will not require a software update, a subscription, or a stable mobile signal.*
*The demisting menu remains three screens deep for heritage reasons.
