Taking your eyes off the road is always dangerous, but with satnav, radio and your mobile phone to distract you, it's bound to happen. Now, researchers at the University of Stuttgart, University of Duisburg-Essen and German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence have been working to create a prototype touch screen steering wheel which they promise will substantially reduce the amount of time drivers take their eye off the road.   The prototype wheel itself is 11 millimeters of thick acrylic, ringed with infrared LEDs and an infrared camera is embedded in order to detect gestures made on the screen-come-wheel. Research was carried out in order to compile a series of gestures that we would come to know naturally due to using them on other devices, such as pinching two fingers together to zoom.   This means that gestures made onto the touch screen are can be made without the driver needing to take their hands off the wheel or eyes off the road. The implications for driver safety are huge, and we could be looking at a drastically reduced number of road accidents. Awesome. Technology is hurtling forward at an alarming rate and we’ve already seen the power of the touch screen with the Apple iPhone, iPad and numerous other devices and their ability to fit seamlessly into our everyday life. Taking this one step perhaps too far is the computer-enabled glass from Corning, which we told you about here, where brushing your teeth upon waking could mean checking your emails in the mirror.   We think that the possible introduction of the touch screen wheel to cars, while it’s safety-ensuring implications are inviting and incredible – is far off. Due to the manufacturing and maintenance costs, it’s not something we’ll see rolled out too soon.