THE SPARROW STORY
Inside the Sparrow Cockpit: Equipment and Controls
The Sparrow's cabin is built around one person, but the team equipped it more completely than its size might suggest. This page lists what was fitted to the modern prototype and explains what each item does for a single commuter.
From the Sparrow archive. Product plans, events and availability described here belong to the original historical period.
Seating and driving controls
The driver sits on a leather Corbin seat with an adjustable backrest and built-in heating and cooling. The steering wheel tilts to suit different drivers. A heater and defroster keep the windshield clear, which matters in a compact glass area. Parking is handled by an electric parking brake acting on the rear disc, and a backup camera compensates for the limited rear view of an aerodynamic tail.
Speed is read from a GPS speedometer rather than a wheel sensor. GPS speed is unaffected by tire size or wear, which suited a prototype whose wheels and tires were still being finalized.
Media and battery information
The dash carries a double-DIN Android media center running a full Android operating system, with AM and FM radio, DVD playback and GPS navigation. Because it is a general-purpose Android device, it can also run the Lightning battery management app, which reports the state of the pack to the driver. The team relied on this app during their range testing to log charge remaining at the end of each trip.