VW is showcasing the future of intuitive vehicle operation at the CES 2015 with the Golf R Touch cockpit concept. The study features an infotainment system that incorporates gesture control, which VW thinks is the next step in the area of intuitive control.

The automaker says future cars will recognize their occupants’ movements via controls based on proximity sensors and gesture recognition. VW’s latest infotainment systems already detect the approach of a hand with proximity sensors, but the next step for infotainment units is to use cameras that not only detect hand gestures, but understand and assign meaning to them.

That’s what the Golf R Touch is all about. VW says all it takes is a hand movement in the space in front of the study’s infotainment display to make human and machine interact as one. The automaker describes this as “extending touchscreen operation into a third dimension.”

Nearly all controls of the Golf R Touch are implemented via touchscreens and sensor switches. This is why the study is equipped with three displays: a 12.8-inch high-resolution infotainment system touchscreen; an 8.0-inch Control Center with touch feedback located beneath it to control vehicle, climate control and media functions; and a 12.3-inch Active Information Display (digitalized instruments).

The layouts of the central touchscreen and the Active Info Display can be customized quickly, in a similar way to smartphones or tablets. The same applies to the entire color staging in the interior. Unfortunately, VW does not say when its production vehicles will offer infotainment systems with gesture recognition. However, you can prepare for the future by watching a video from CNET that shows how this technology works in the Golf R Touch.

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