Adaptive soft buttons for a vehicle user interface

A method of configuring a vehicle interface, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a touch-screen display interface within a vehicle;
• displaying at least one vehicle subsystem interface on said touch-screen display interface, wherein said at least one vehicle subsystem interface corresponds to a particular vehicle subsystem, wherein said at least one vehicle subsystem interface is comprised of displayed information corresponding to said particular vehicle subsystem, and wherein said at least one vehicle subsystem interface is comprised of a plurality of touch-sensitive soft buttons corresponding to a plurality of controllable functions associated with said particular vehicle subsystem, wherein each of said plurality of touch-sensitive soft buttons corresponds to a touch-sensitive region on said touch-screen display interface;
• monitoring at least one vehicle condition utilizing at least one vehicle condition sensor;
• communicating an output from said at least one vehicle condition sensor to a system controller, wherein said system controller is coupled to said touch-screen display interface and provides configuration instructions to said touch-screen display interface;
• configuring a set of touch properties corresponding to each touch-sensitive region of said plurality of touch-sensitive soft buttons in response to said output from said at least one vehicle condition sensor, wherein said set of touch properties corresponds to a tap duration required to register input for each individual touch of said touch-sensitive regions, wherein said configuring step further comprises the step of modifying said tap duration from a first value to a second value when said at least one vehicle condition deteriorates below a preset level;
• and
• wherein said system controller periodically performs said configuring step during vehicle operation and as vehicle conditions change.