Imagine never again having to pound a vehicle's steering wheel in search of the horn.  TRW's new frustration-free electronic horn is activated by simply touching a conductive area on the steering wheel airbag cover. 

Special coatings transform the airbag cover into a three-dimensional electrical conductive surface.  It can detect the position of a finger or hand and send a signal to an electronic control unit - resulting in horn activation that requires no force.

Using smaller sensor fields connected to the ECU, it is possible to detect if the driver's hand approaches the cover from the side (accidentally), or from the top (activation by the driver).  TRW expects that its electronic horn will be ready for production in 2014.