Researchers on the International Space Station are looking at what occurs when knobs & switches in space are replaced by screens with swipes & taps
Seems like a normal progression of technology and there is a definite advantage to having software switches instead of having to wire up a physical switch for every function. However, as the video mentions, touch screen use requires fine motor skills. Part of the experiment is to determine if, and how much, fine motor skills degrade in long duration spaceflight and ways to mitigate it.
I'm also thinking that's fine for routine or non-critical stuff, but having the tactile feedback, especially on something that might need to be used in an emergency or with limited visibility, is important. A lot of modern cars use touch screens now for their entertainment systems and I don't care for them because I have to take my eyes off the road to use them. Most cars include steering wheel controls with tactile feedback for the most used controls but it's still a concern. Is the hardware something you need to be able to operate without directing 100% of your attention to it?
Sort of like the first digital dashes. Just because it can be done, doesn't mean it's a good idea.
The first thing that came to mind was when I tried to answer my Galaxy S3 wearing (very thin fabric) gloves. Ain't happen'. It's a capacitive screen. Requires bare fingertips. Conversely, I could answer my old RAZR flip phone, even bundled up like Nanook.
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 11-08-2015).]
Sort of like the first digital dashes. Just because it can be done, doesn't mean it's a good idea.
The first thing that came to mind was when I tried to answer my Galaxy S3 wearing (very thin fabric) gloves. Ain't happen'. It's a capacitive screen. Requires bare fingertips. Conversely, I could answer my old RAZR flip phone, even bundled up like Nanook.
Just FYI, you can set your S3 to answer by pressing the home button and hang up by pressing power. Settings >> Call >> Answering and Ending Calls
Then just check the boxes and from then on you can answer and hang up using those buttons. I do it myself. It is a lot easier than swiping to answer.
And if you limit it to only bare skin contact, it's useless if you're wearing gloves. Lots of challenges to making it work in all situations.
They do make material that will register with capacitive touchscreens. I have a pair of gloves that I can use my phone while wearing. They are similar to these:
The touch screen may not work well if you happen to be in a space suit for some reason such as an emergency involving loss of pressure. There is something to be said for using physical switches for important or safety related functions.
Just FYI, you can set your S3 to answer by pressing the home button and hang up by pressing power. Settings >> Call >> Answering and Ending Calls
Then just check the boxes and from then on you can answer and hang up using those buttons. I do it myself. It is a lot easier than swiping to answer.
Thanks for that. I'll look into it. It has never become enough of an issue to pursue on my own. (I'm just lazy that way. And haven't worn gloves enough times last year to make it matter. This year may be another story.)
The touch screen may not work well if you happen to be in a space suit for some reason such as an emergency involving loss of pressure. There is something to be said for using physical switches for important or safety related functions.
Nelson
Sometimes a switch is better for visual confirmation of the switch being set. those are also susceptible to things flying around the cabin in 0 gravity, thing is I have never seen anything flying around in the cabin unless they did it on purpose, experiment.
Amanda has one of those touch screen phones and even with bare fingers sometimes you have to push it several times to get it to work.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
The advantage of a switch is that you do not have to look at it to tell what it is and if it has been manipulated. Ever look at the cyclic grip and thrust grip of a Chinook? Each switch/button has a purpose build individual shape or texture to it to set it apart from another. Touch screens require the operator to visually see where they are putting their finger. I guess that is good though who knows. I'm sure you can argue both side of this as to why one is better than the other. The flat touch screens are much lighter and require less wiring than hundreds of individual switches. Also to be able to have a display that can be individually adjusted to display what ever the pilot or copilot wants to see is nice. New CH-47F Chinook helicopters have "glass" cockpits and they are nice to use. Being able to bring up navigation maps on one screen and aircraft information on another is a nice feature. The Chinook MFD's (multi function displays) Still have soft keys around the border of the screen so you can select a function, That is aligned with that soft key buy pressing it. There is still a lot going on though LOL
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ARCHIES JUNK IS FASTER THAN SHAUNNA'S JUNK
12.3 is faster than a 13.2
[This message has been edited by FIEROPHREK (edited 11-09-2015).]
I'm wait for the mind control headsets from apple. I know they will be behind a bit on the technology but at least they will just work right out of the box and that is what is important to me when I fly my spaceships.
Ever tried to use a touchscreen in an aircraft in turbulence? It's not fun. For a close simulation, try texting-and-driving on a bumpy gravel road with the phone/tablet in a dash mount. It will take you about 10 seconds to figure out why this is a bad idea. Glass cockpits are nice for the versatility, but I want hard switches, buttons and breakers even if they do weigh more.
The other factor is systems seperation. With seperation hard switches if one cuircuit goes bad I still have the rest, with touchscreen if it goes out I've just lost everything associated with it. Redundant systems will probably do the job but workload just went thru the roof to compensate (ie in IFR I don't want to be switching the remaining screen or 2 between engine, flight and navigation info
About 15 years ago I had to renew my license and it turned out I had one point too many on my record. Picked up one too many speeding tickets when we were in the process of moving to Virginia.
I was informed at the DMV that I would have to take a special "written" test, about equal to a permit test. They gave me a booklet to study and told me to come back the next day. Since it's a 40 mile trip I asked to take the test that day.
The test comprised two parts. In part one you had to get 5 out of 5, part two was 80%. Why? Some nameless bureaucrat needed a job, that's why.
After reading through the simpleton booklet I stood in front of the touch screen and when the first question popped up I barely brushed the screen in the wrong place on my way to answering the first question.
Boom that was it, fail. And you couldn't retake the test until the next day.
I'm wait for the mind control headsets from apple. I know they will be behind a bit on the technology but at least they will just work right out of the box and that is what is important to me when I fly my spaceships.
Lol, I prefer mine fly themselves and I just stil and play games
