National Interest: The F-35’s Touchscreen Isn’t Perfect—Can It Ever Be?
It looks like the expensive stealth fighter has yet another problem.
It has been over a decade since the original iPad was released and soon after the debate began on whether a tablet device could replace a laptop or even PCs in general. Even as recently as late 2018, the question was asked whether a touchscreen would be the new normal—but there are simply times where a touchscreen isn’t as intuitive as having buttons and keys.
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WNU Editor: What caught my eye in the above post is this ....
.... At present I am pressing the wrong part of the screen about 20% of the time in flight due to either mis-identification, or more commonly by my finger getting jostled around in turbulence or under G.
Hitting the wrong part of the screen about 20% of the time in flight is (to me) 20% too much.
"Hitting the wrong part of the screen about 20% of the time in flight is (to me) 20% too much."
ReplyDelete"In August 2019, Admiral Bill Galinis, who oversees U.S. Navy ship design, said the , so sailors were not sure where key indicators could be found on the screen; this confusion contributed to the collision. The Navy is planning to replace all touchscreens with wheels and throttles on all of its ships, starting in mid-2020"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Fitzgerald_and_MV_ACX_Crystal_collision
Touch screen are ubiquitous in civilian life and therefore probably cheaper. It is probably much harder to find the old style controls than a touch screen you would find at a McDonalds, Appleby's or anywhere else. My belief is that perhaps the admiral is giving the shipbuilders cover. I bet it was a push by the shipbuilder as much of a pull by the Navy. Human factors engineering failed or was overruled.
In a civilian car with old push buttons, you could reach over without taking your eyes off the road and change channels. With the new touch screens your eyes are off the road period for a short time.
https://www.sae.org/standards/content/arp60494/
PS: Touchscreens sure make it easier for a person like Hillary to wipe the electronics. So it is easier for cleaning. Ha ha!
Addendum
"Investigations also found that Crystal was operating on autopilot until shortly before the collision, and did not sound blasts or attempt radio communication with the Fitzgerald prior to the collision. The Crystal's duty officers did not take sufficient steps to detect the risk of, or attempt to avoid, a collision. The owners of the Crystal agreed to pay nearly $27 million in damages to the U.S. government"
Easier to clean except, when it gets you into a wreck.
ReplyDeleteYou can say that a mechanical switch wears out. So do the switches behind a touch screen. Is it worth the loss of utility and safety?