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> The likely driving force that is causing it is the manufacturers BOM costs. Whilst I think this is part of it's about more than just reducing the BOM. There'

> The likely driving force that is causing it is the manufacturers BOM costs. Whilst I think this is part of it's about more than just reducing the BOM. There's a trend to move all interfaces from knobs and switches to touch screens even when money isn't the problem. For example the SpaceX Dragon capsule also takes this approach which you can see from the images below: https://www.spacex.com/crew-dragon https://www.spacex.com/crew-dragon A heavily vibrating vehicle which needs to be operated quickly and with 100% reliability by a human operator really should not be operated via a proliferation of touch screens and touch buttons as the images above show. I think current fashions are very much to blame in a lot of cases. A sleek touchscreen operated car in the showroom is a sexier buy than your more traditional button festooned dashboard. Buyer's only get a chance to regret it after they've spent a lot of time with the vehicle.

owl57 7y ago
Buyer's only get a chance to regret it after they've spent a lot of time with the vehicle. Several years ago, probably. Now, when their previous car already has a similar touchscreen?
- schreiaj 7y ago
  "Oh, I'm sure touchscreens have gotten better"
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- _ZeD_ 7y ago
  They likelly had forgotten how it was before
ceejayoz 7y ago
> A heavily vibrating vehicle which needs to be operated quickly and with 100% reliability by a human operator really should not be operated via a proliferation of touch screens and touch buttons as the images above show. In fairness to SpaceX, Dragon largely isn't designed to be operated by a human. There's a reason that page calls out stuff like "how warm should the cabin be" as the sort of decisions being made with these touchscreens.
- pugworthy 7y ago
  To quote the page linked earlier... > Crew Dragon will be a fully autonomous spacecraft that can also be monitored & controlled by on board astronauts and SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, CA.
  - yholio 7y ago
    I would be very surprised if Dragon did not include the 21st century equivalent of the Apollo 8-ball, manual translation controller and stick. NASA is a very conservative organization and if there is a lesson to be learned from past near disasters, is how limited is the foresight of mission planners and how infinitely adaptable are the human astronauts.
    - rbanffy 7y ago
      It has a stick and a couple buttons for most of the functionality that can be useful to the pilots in case the craft misbehaves. It seems to have rotary input so it can manage rotation and translation. A lot of the controls in an Apollo were to be used in normal manual operations that are automated (or have no counterpart) in Dragons.
- m4rtink 7y ago
  There are a few physical buttons for the few critical functions you might want to trigger in the boost/reentry phase. The rest is either 1 g or microgravity and a touchscreen should not be a problem. BTW, not surre if they implemented it in the end, but they planned to handle screen blurring due to vibrations by shifting the screen content based on accelerometer data in real time. A rather clever idea IMHO. :)
  - rbanffy 7y ago
    > they planned to handle screen blurring due to vibrations by shifting the screen content based on accelerometer data in real time IIRC, Orion does that by timing the screen backlight. If I had a choice between Orion, Starliner or Dragon, I'd go with the Dragon. The spacesuits are much nicer and if I have to die, I'd rather go with style.
ardy42 7y ago
> I think current fashions are very much to blame in a lot of cases. A sleek touchscreen operated car in the showroom is a sexier buy than your more traditional button festooned dashboard. Buyer's only get a chance to regret it after they've spent a lot of time with the vehicle. Exactly. Touch screens are pure tech fad in about 50% of use cases at least, with the decision to use them not based on any kind of practical considerations. However, I'm a little skeptical that the average buyer is going to regret using one. A lot of people seem to get hung up on newer tech == better tech, so they never really seem to look at the newer technology with a critical eye. I often prefer older tech in some cases (e.g. buttons and knows), but my fiancee often doesn't get it and advises me to stop fighting it and go with the trend.
- mhermher 7y ago
  I've been driving my most recent car for 3 years now. I want to go back to analog controls. It sucks. I'm used to it but it still sucks.
- SN76477 7y ago
  Touch screens are not as mature as a button or knob. We know that using a small knob to control a radio works, it is tried and true again and again. But we also know that replacing the steering wheel with a small knob is a bad idea. This is because this is a mature technology has that has as many bad implications as good ones. I guess I’m a way tough screens need to be everywhere since that is how the technology matured and we know where they should not be used.

owl57 7y ago

Buyer's only get a chance to regret it after they've spent a lot of time with the vehicle. Several years ago, probably. Now, when their previous car already has a similar touchscreen?

schreiaj 7y ago
"Oh, I'm sure touchscreens have gotten better"
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
_ZeD_ 7y ago
They likelly had forgotten how it was before

ceejayoz 7y ago

> A heavily vibrating vehicle which needs to be operated quickly and with 100% reliability by a human operator really should not be operated via a proliferation of touch screens and touch buttons as the images above show. In fairness to SpaceX, Dragon largely isn't designed to be operated by a human. There's a reason that page calls out stuff like "how warm should the cabin be" as the sort of decisions being made with these touchscreens.

pugworthy 7y ago
To quote the page linked earlier... > Crew Dragon will be a fully autonomous spacecraft that can also be monitored & controlled by on board astronauts and SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, CA.
- yholio 7y ago
  I would be very surprised if Dragon did not include the 21st century equivalent of the Apollo 8-ball, manual translation controller and stick. NASA is a very conservative organization and if there is a lesson to be learned from past near disasters, is how limited is the foresight of mission planners and how infinitely adaptable are the human astronauts.
  - rbanffy 7y ago
    It has a stick and a couple buttons for most of the functionality that can be useful to the pilots in case the craft misbehaves. It seems to have rotary input so it can manage rotation and translation. A lot of the controls in an Apollo were to be used in normal manual operations that are automated (or have no counterpart) in Dragons.
m4rtink 7y ago
There are a few physical buttons for the few critical functions you might want to trigger in the boost/reentry phase. The rest is either 1 g or microgravity and a touchscreen should not be a problem. BTW, not surre if they implemented it in the end, but they planned to handle screen blurring due to vibrations by shifting the screen content based on accelerometer data in real time. A rather clever idea IMHO. :)
- rbanffy 7y ago
  > they planned to handle screen blurring due to vibrations by shifting the screen content based on accelerometer data in real time IIRC, Orion does that by timing the screen backlight. If I had a choice between Orion, Starliner or Dragon, I'd go with the Dragon. The spacesuits are much nicer and if I have to die, I'd rather go with style.

ardy42 7y ago

> I think current fashions are very much to blame in a lot of cases. A sleek touchscreen operated car in the showroom is a sexier buy than your more traditional button festooned dashboard. Buyer's only get a chance to regret it after they've spent a lot of time with the vehicle. Exactly. Touch screens are pure tech fad in about 50% of use cases at least, with the decision to use them not based on any kind of practical considerations. However, I'm a little skeptical that the average buyer is going to regret using one. A lot of people seem to get hung up on newer tech == better tech, so they never really seem to look at the newer technology with a critical eye. I often prefer older tech in some cases (e.g. buttons and knows), but my fiancee often doesn't get it and advises me to stop fighting it and go with the trend.

mhermher 7y ago
I've been driving my most recent car for 3 years now. I want to go back to analog controls. It sucks. I'm used to it but it still sucks.
SN76477 7y ago
Touch screens are not as mature as a button or knob. We know that using a small knob to control a radio works, it is tried and true again and again. But we also know that replacing the steering wheel with a small knob is a bad idea. This is because this is a mature technology has that has as many bad implications as good ones. I guess I’m a way tough screens need to be everywhere since that is how the technology matured and we know where they should not be used.