Denso concept dashboard (photos)

Denso, supplier of electronic components for a variety of automakers, showed off its concept for the dashboard of the future at the 2011 Detroit auto show.

The dashboard interface features a smartphone dock in the dashboard, in this case an iPhone, which gives the user the ability to customize and interact with the system.

Users can choose from, for example, a variety of different gauges that activate different driver aid modes.

A driver attentiveness mode activates this robotic camera at the top of the dashboard, which watches the driver's face for signs of drowsiness.

As the driver becomes more sleepy, a virtual coffee cup fills in the instrument cluster until finally, the cabin's ambient lighting glows red and the robot begins beeping to warn the driver to seek rest.

At the same time, the navigation system suggests the four nearest coffee shops, which can be routed to with the touch of a button.

The system also features an efficiency mode that ties into the traffic light infrastructure to let drivers know when lights are turning red and for how long, enabling them to time the intersections for minimal stopping.