Ask HN: Any resources on the best physical UI?
For example, car interiors, fighter jet interiors, destroyer interiors. What are the best practices for physical interaction with a machine?
Two examples that have stuck with me:
Descent angle/rate shown and entered on the same display, the mode determined whether you were entering an angle in degrees or a rate of change in altitude. The difference in display, aside from the mode indicator (a single light) was a comma (rate) or decimal (angle). Entering an incorrect value because the pilot thought it was in a different mode resulted in a much faster descent and accident. Imagine this on a simple LED display (but smaller than your standard alarm clock):
.
1,000
1.000
Another was a control for a ferry boat with two engines. Depending on which engine, the control for engine speed could mean different things depending on which engine was the active engine. Visual aid:
|========|
X X
1 2
[0] https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/tragic-design/978149192...