I have a set from Thrustmaster for my combined driving and flight sim rig, it works really well for mfd input. (F16 mainly).
A set of blank buttons eg at the bottom of the display that could be mapped to in display functions would have been very useful.
(I've gotten used to how it is now - and actually really like it after a year - but not going to say it couldn't have been done better. It would look less minimalistic, however.)
Cockpit UI like on the F/A-18 are called Multifunction Displays or MFDs, but wouldn't they be terrible UI as well, until you memorize the sequence of buttons to do something? You'd still have to look at the display to see what the submenu options are.
Apparently they're available for flight sim games, if I had the time and know-how, it'd be neat to bu one (e.g. on AliExpress) and integrate it to my car:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gysmVPYX2Fc
If you look at those MFDs, many also have rotational controls in the corners (some even have two levels of dials, one sitting on top of the other), which are another key way to keep the UI tactile and promote muscle memory.
Things like eliminating lag, organizing menus into predictable paths that can easily be committed to muscle memory, and designing buttons and dials that can be used even in high vibration environments, are all key design criteria for these cockpit controls. It's so sad that automotive design refuses to take any lessons from that industry.
If we extend this idea, why not do it for airplanes? It seems like a bad idea to be changing the layout of mission-critical systems. I'm sure it'd wreak havoc if the cockpit of a 787 was all touch screens, with UI changes pushed at the whim of developers.
I drive a car with analog controls. The buttons for controlling the radio, hazard lights, the A/C, etc are all static. I wouldn't want it to change. It gets the job done; it doesn't need iteration, and messing with it would reduce safety. I don't have to look at the controls, because the buttons are of various shapes/sizes that I know. Tactile feedback is value in keeping eyes on the road.
It’s infuriating trying to use the touch screen in my wife’s minivan to change the radio station. I can’t imagine the frustration trying to use a touch screen to fly a fighter jet.
Physical knobs and buttons are great for muscle memory. How much of a muscle memory do you have for the controls setting mirror position? For setting fade/balance on the stereo? Enabling valet mode?
The UI question is only valid for controls used frequently. For everything else, I think it is already settled that they are better in the screen. At the very least, for the sake of UI simplicity. I can't imagine a physical interface for enabling or disabling every driving assistance option in a Tesla. It'd become an airliner button panel.
I hate the trend in cars that there are no or few physical buttons. Tactile feedback is still important. It is so unsafe to take one's eyes off of the road. At least give me some function buttons and a joystick--my current car has that and I use it all the time.
There's an older 'smart' knob out there that was meant I think for CAD interfaces. I don't recall if it's made anymore, but I do know that it's shown up on the bridge of a number of scifi aircraft/spaceships over the last decade.
But for the purposes of this discussion, having a couple three of those on the dashboard and using them a bit like radial menus would probably split the difference pretty well.
I bet it would end up looking better as well. High quality switches and buttons feel really luxurious.
If you look at Gordon Murray's latest car, the t50, he spent a lot of time sourcing buttons and switches for the car because he cares deeply about their tactile feel. There is also not a single touch display in the car. Because he passionately hates them.
If you are into sports cars you kind of want to cry when you look at how badly some of the dashboards tend to age. Some of them look like embarrassing student projects where a 1990s web designer has crammed all manner of animated gifs with a horribly infantile palette onto the dashboard.
I'd be happy if my next car had physical buttons. Putting everything on a screen you must look at is one of the most distracting and dangerous things I can think of. I've yet to see a digital display I like better than buttons and dials for volume, tuning, and temperature control.
Frankly I find that more appealing than the airplane dashboard that are currently MBs. I was actually just wondering the other day as I was driving with family owning one (well, two) if they will take the route of Tesla and get rid of the bazillion useless buttons.
I recently got a Tesla, so maybe it just takes getting used to, but I miss tactile controls.
I think a row of knobs along the bottom edge that correspond to the buttons/icons directly above would be the best of both worlds: flexibility of software-defined controls (except the number/spacing becomes fixed), with the tactility of real knobs.
Tesla's console is the embodiment of form over function for UI. It looks beautiful having a flowing button-free cockpit, but I'd rather be able to adjust settings without looking away from the road. Whatever happened to HUDs? It seems like a HUD with a dial on the steering wheel would let you have the best of both worlds.
any feature I'm likely to use while driving should get a hard button that I can press without looking. if the tradeoff is that I end up with a bunch of buttons that I never use, I'm good with that.
I have nothing against an interface with menus, but nothing can beat physical buttons for input, IMHO. Put 4 pushbuttons down each side of a screen, have a set of hierarchical menu options that I can memorize, and that's the best of both worlds. Those buttons near the screen are fine to have overloaded functionality.
For critical things like all the normal vehicle functions, they should have dedicated controls that aren't overloaded.
Oh, and a big damn volume knob that shuts off the radio/entertainment system.
Yea some do have this, just not common anymore. e.g. I want a GTI, but I really hate the lack of buttons. Even the steering wheel controls aren't physical buttons anymore.
I wonder what pilots think about the Model 3 interface.
I’m not one but I love all the buttons and knobs in and around my wheel. The 2020 Forester has a freakish number of them. But it lets me do so much without taking my hands off the wheel or eyes far from the dash if at all.
I have a set from Thrustmaster for my combined driving and flight sim rig, it works really well for mfd input. (F16 mainly).
A set of blank buttons eg at the bottom of the display that could be mapped to in display functions would have been very useful.
(I've gotten used to how it is now - and actually really like it after a year - but not going to say it couldn't have been done better. It would look less minimalistic, however.)
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