4 ms·
IIRC, there was a US Navy ship whose stations had physical buttons, knobs, and switches that were software controlled, as in they mapped to different function d
by xav0989 4y ago
IIRC, there was a US Navy ship whose stations had physical buttons, knobs, and switches that were software controlled, as in they mapped to different function depending on if the operator selected the weapons, or navigation, or radar, etc. functions.
You still had the tactile interface, but you gained the flexibility of the dynamic interfaces.
Not sure how well it performed though.
- picture 4y agoI think that's a pretty common design pattern for industrial/reliable applications. Multi Function Displays have been common in "glass-cockpit" aircraft for a long time. The F16 notably also feature master mode switches on the group of buttons below the HUD. It allows the operator to quickly switch between air to air, air to ground, dogfight modes, etc, bringing up relevant displays and controls at a moment's notice. I've heard that pilots consider F16 one of the best designed in terms of interface. Soft buttons are also pretty common for test and measurement equipment. I own many modern digital oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers, all of which feature physical buttons around the screen that are selected by software to do different things
- jakzurr 4y agoThat's pretty interesting. Apparently touchscreen throttle and helm controls didn't work out, though, and were removed. I haven't read anything about this since 2019, but here's the link: https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/11/20800111/us-navy-uss-john-s-mccain-crash-ntsb-report-touchscreen-mechanical-controls https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/11/20800111/us-navy-uss-john...