Radiomize Targets Commercialization of Smart Steering Wheels

In a quest to take driving to new heights, Radiomize desires to bring its Indiegogo project to the market. The company’s tech-enabled, touch-controlled steering wheel cover converts a standard steering wheel into a touchpad controller for a paired smartphone, safely adding connected car options to any vehicle.

Made to fit most vehicles as a slip-on addition, it features up to one year battery life under normal use. The cover also comes with a breathable, leather-like body into which a battery, touchpad, and simple wireless receiver are embedded. The idea behind this product is to replace or enhance current steering wheel control buttons for smartphone control—which is typically done through the car’s internal Bluetooth—with a simpler, less distracting single-button upgrade.

The steering wheel also comes with a Radiomize app that employs the phone’s built-in technologies to offer safety, social access and infotainment. Users can control music playback, scroll through messages, read the latest headlines and more utilizing the Radiomize interface.

When the vehicle is in motion, which is spotted through the phone’s internal GPS and gyroscopes, the app automatically blocks the more distracting activities to inhibit any risky behavior. Compared to other steering wheel-based controllers such as those in the Drive system, the safety systems in Radiomize are less pushy.

The three modes in the Radiomize controller are Stop, Drive, and Radio. In Stop Mode, when the vehicle is still, messages can be scrolled through and replied to with either button. When in Drive Mode, the incoming messages are accepted and read aloud with a tap on either button. Under the Radio Mode, the right button of the touchpad moves forward to the next news item or song and the left button goes to the previous.

Longer double-taps and presses on the controller also have a function, with a long press in Radio Mode controlling volume and a double-tap pausing and unpausing playback, or jumping between news and music. When in Drive Mode, a double-tap on the touchpad skips incoming messages. Ultimately, a sliding gesture on the touchpad’s body scrolls when in Stop Mode.

Included in the other safety features is an SOS preset that enables the driver to create an SOS message that can be received by up to five recipients. This message can be sent when there is an emergency, along with the driver’s location details. The app learns the preferences of the driver during music playback and actively creates or customizes its playlists in accordance with that behavior. What’s more, message types, music, news, and social media can be filtered and customized.

Radiomize aims to raise US$50,000 to successfully enter production.