Controller

Only 65 millimetres across, but an enormously important innovation in automobile design, the Controller is located in the central console of the BMW 7 Series cockpit. With it, drivers can activate and use a host of secondary functions intuitively. Its main advantage over conventional systems is its deployment of tactile feedback.

Drivers have at their disposal a simple layout: the Controller can be turned a certain distance in both directions and it possesses a midpoint in between. It also features a centred spring so drivers can scroll through longer lists ("jog-shuttle" effect), thereby engaging the drivers' sense of touch and reducing distraction from the surrounding traffic.

The eight menu subsections of the Control Display are set out like an eight-point compass and the menus all adapt to suit each driver's individual preferences. As opposed to conventional systems, the display is separated from the regulating element: the Control Display and Controller are not one in the same.