Analog or digital?
Stavanger hosts a tall ship festival every now and then, bringing majestic sail ships from around the world. Steamboats, though? Not so much. That’s why the Fjordsteam Festival was such a treat this year, filling the city harbor with historic steamers. What a stroll – you could explore ship cabins and even engine rooms. How cool is that? Even better when paired with perfect summer weather.
Look at the ship controls – wheels, levers, buttons, switches. With so many digital interfaces today – touch tablets in cars, touch screens for drilling HMIs, keyboards and mice for vessels – we’re losing the visceral feedback that helps us connect with heavy, moving machines. Actions with real consequences should feel real. Tangible, haptic controls are easier to predict, more intuitive, and connect us with the task.
We’re starting to see new controllers designed to bring back that haptic feedback. I’m sure we’ll witness the comeback of buttons, wheels, levers, joysticks – maybe redesigned, but giving us the same feeling of doing something impactful.
Back to the future, is that what it’s called?