Vauxhall Astra Touchscreen Dashboard

Although most new vehicles now include touchscreens as an option, they do not tend to have full blown Windows or Android operating systems. For emergency services though, they require this functionality (known as a Mobile Data Terminal or ‘MDT’) for everything from command and control to number plate recognition.

This project involved designing a full new centre console interface for the Vauxhall Astra, allowing for a dockable tablet to be slid into place securely and connect to vehicle systems, whilst keeping all of the clean lines of the interior and all of the functionality you would usually expect from the vehicle.

The first iteration design focused around keeping the original vehicle fascia and building onto it. This would involve the tablet pivoting forward to be removed, similar to a cassette player. After sketching, prototyping and trialling this concept though, there were issues around the ergonomics for the user, as well as ease of installation.

After a lot of further design work, a concept was reached where the top half of the fascia would be replaced. This was designed to include everything from the tetra radio head to the blue light switches, all smoothly built into one dashboard.

The final design consisted of a new top fascia for the vehicle, which maintained the same aesthetic lines of the interior, whilst adding the touchscreen interface. This design kept the original air vents, and also allowed for a din radio slot, vehicle control switches and release mechanisms for the tablet. The solution also integrated the blue light control switches into the bottom to further remove any ‘add-ons’ to the dashboard. This bottom section included outward facing usb ports to connect to the computer system.

The end result, whilst being simple in terms of looks, was both cost effective when compared to competitor solutions, and also reduced the fitting time from approximately 2 days per vehicle to several hours.