Home appliance interfaces are 20 years behind

    Over the past 10-20 years, the IT world has moved far ahead. The ways of interacting with devices have changed a lot, changing many aspects of life. But some industries continue to stubbornly resist progress. And one of them: home appliance interfaces.

    This cannot go on forever, and sooner or later manufacturers will have to start catching up.

    In this article I will consider how, from the point of view of user interaction, household appliances can become better today or as a maximum in a couple of years.



    Immediately make a reservation, I will not consider new principles of the functioning of devices (for example, replacing a mechanical washing machine with ultrasonic or cleaning nano-robots), but I will focus only on device interfaces.

    1. Technique should be easier


    Let's look at the interface of a typical washing machine:


    There is a set of some programs, each program can also select a number of parameters (temperature, spin speed, some muddy options, delayed start, and so on). In general, heroically flipping through the instructions, you can learn to use your favorite quick wash program, occasionally returning to the manual when you need to wash something special.

    At the same time, for 98% of use cases, just such a set of buttons would be enough:


    By default, each program erases at a safe temperature. Nevertheless, the rest of the interface elements, which are rarely needed, clutter the controls in vain, making it complicated and incomprehensible.

    I foresee righteous anger: “But what can I do in 2% of cases ?! For example, I need a high temperature for washing. Anyway, I like to customize the program taking into account the phase of the moon. " About this in the next section.

    2. The tool should separate from the control interface


    The problem with the typical interface of a household appliance is that it is thoughtlessly trying to take into account all the possibilities of controlling the device. Even those that will be used once a year or will not be used at all. So it turns out that 2-3 necessary regimes are lost among dozens of useless ones.

    It is clear that you need to use the principle of dynamization and make the interface change depending on the requirements for it (like the transition from button smartphones to touch devices).

    And there are even such attempts. For example, embed a display in the washer. The display, however, is built in resistive, unimaginably low quality and small size. And the interface on it is so scary that it does not dream of a nightmare. All this leads to the fact that using the device becomes generally impossible.

    “Well, don’t embed an iPad into a washing machine! It is too expensive, ”the attentive reader will object. Right, embed - no need. It is necessary to give the opportunity to control the equipment from the iPad, iPhone or in general from a browser window.

    In fact, this is the familiar MVC principle. In the case of a washer, the model is a motor, a drum, etc., the controller is low-level control electronics, and the view is a control interface that can be moved to a separate device.

    What advantages can arise when separating the interface from the executive part. Well, firstly, from the device itself, you can remove all unnecessary, leavingonly the most necessary (like emergency shutdown) and frequently used (washing in 25 minutes, etc.) functions, thereby simplifying the interaction with the device. That is, 98% of operations can be started with one button from the device itself, and the remaining 2% (for example, you need to wash something with a high temperature) - through the tablet.

    Secondly, it is no longer necessary to localize the front panels of the equipment (which is usually done very crookedly), since only the most basic functions will remain on them.

    Well, and thirdly, once you have sold equipment with a basic set of functions (cost reduction), you can then sell new programs to it. For example, for the microwave it will be cooking programs, for the washing program - cashmere washing programs, etc.

    3. Technology must become more independent


    Now most devices are trying to shift all solutions to the user's shoulders. While a variety of sensors have long begun to cost a penny and can make almost any device much more independent.

    For instance. The microwave oven itself can determine the weight and temperature of the product put into it, on the basis of this, by choosing the power and operating time. The washing machine can determine what things are put in it (color, dark or white), as well as the type of fabric, and then select the appropriate washing program. To warn the refrigerator that it is already almost empty and send pictures of what is left in it.

    Of course, some attempts to do something similar are made, but only in a narrow class of high-end equipment, so they do not get wide distribution, which in turn impedes the development of infrastructure for such equipment and inhibits its development.

    Conclusion


    Despite the fact that digital technologies have come a long way over the past couple of decades, their use in home appliance interfaces has stagnated at the level of twenty years ago.

    This is partly due to marketing - you can make one device, and sell it twice as expensive simply by adding additional “programs” to it, without changing everything else.

    But it will not last forever. And the one who first begins to actively introduce new technologies can tilt the amorphous market.

    UPD

    Reply to comments


    During the day, the article collected more than 300 comments, caused a lot of criticism and suggestions in the comments. I read them all and I will answer the most frequently repeated or interesting ones in this update.

    To begin with: what is a washing machine for?
    Try for a second to break away from temperature control, spin speed, programs, etc. Think about why you need a washer?

    In fact, for all the variety of functions, programs, etc., the washing machine performs only one task: it turns dirty things into clean ones. All.

    If she knew how to do it automatically without spoiling things and would cope with this task well, why would you need temperature, spin speed, program, etc. controls?

    The only question is how to make sure that it does not spoil things and does well. Many commentators, for some reason, are firmly convinced that this is impossible. I know, for example, how a machine can determine the type of fabric and whether colored things are inside. In the end, you can always make a machine that erases well in a safe mode for all things.

    So, if the machine knows how to wash things well itself and at the same time does not spoil them, why do you need temperature and speed controllers?

    “You can do it even easier, you don’t need 4 buttons”
    Sound note. Ideally, it should be so. More precisely, ideally, the machine should not be, and its function should be performed (but this is a separate topic, which I will not raise on Habré).

    In the illustrations, I did not seek to show a specific interface. In this case, I selected 4 buttons because I myself have a specific task pattern, so I brought it up as an example.

    “The author - burn in hell!”
    Many people perceived the post as an attempt to rob them of their warm lamp twists, mechanical buttons, etc. I didn’t apply for this. :) Don’t worry, the industry is so slow that the usual interfaces will last for a very long time.

    “This technique will not suit me / my grandmother / all people in the world”
    I do not argue, it will not suit everyone. Moreover, it is impossible to design such a thing that is suitable for everyone. Just as it is impossible, for example, to combine the advantages of a pickup truck, sedan, SUV, truck and sports car in one car (actually it is possible, but this is rather a theoretical question, again, not for Habr).

    “Does not protect against a fool”
    If a person puts red socks in a white pillowcase, the machine will not recognize the danger (more precisely, I just don’t know how to do this). But no existing machine can save you from this. Although, I think, you can come up with technology, and the problem can be solved (for example, a powder that binds paint particles, preventing them from settling on other things).

    “But what about the temperature and spin speed. Such a machine will ruin my things! ”
    I wrote about this above, but the question is so popular that I also put it out separately.

    If the machine knew how to wash one button at a time so that things would turn from dirty to clean, but they would not spoil, why would you need temperature and spin speed controllers?

    If you think this is impossible to do, then you give up too soon.

    “It's hard to do, expensive.”
    Electronics is rapidly getting cheaper. The proposal to integrate a digital video player into a TV set 10 years ago would also raise a similar objection. Now even the penny Chinese can play 4GB mkv-movies with subtitles, many tracks, etc.

    "You can’t embed a control display in the machine!"
    I agree with this, and I wrote in the article that it makes no sense to embed a control display in a typewriter. On the machine itself should be only the most necessary functions (for example, emergency shutdown and washing).

    “We need twists, pens, toggle switches, a hidden control panel”
    Once again I ask the question: “If the machine can wash well and does not spoil the laundry, then why do you need all these controls?”

    Well, you stuffed the dirty laundry, pressed one button, got clean linen, not damaged by the machine. Why do you still need some kind of control over the machine?

    “The author never used a washer”
    This is my favorite type of comment. :) I use it often. The sports uniform, cotton items, girl’s silk items, and bedding are loaded into the wash. For myself, I would leave the “quick wash” mode, for silk and wool items - gentle wash. A thorough wash comes in handy in case of any emergency.

    Better yet, wash with one button, safe for all things.

    My pattern is not applicable to everyone, but there is definitely a certain niche of users.

    “Manufacturers are not idiots and know what they are doing.”
    Manufacturers feel great by selling several models of equipment that are identical inside, but differ by 1 button and 2 times the price.

    And they also love marketing research. Even with the example of this article, it is clear what they lead to:
    - Consumers, what do you want?
    “Adjusting the temperature, the spin speed, the program (* 100 different programs), etc.

    And no one says:“ I want her to wash well, not to spoil the clothes and not require any effort from me. ”

    “The technique will make a mistake in the automatic settings and ruin everything”
    Why do you think this is a given and it cannot be circumvented?

    About telepathy
    Yes, the microwave does not know what you want to do: thaw meat or cook it. But just for such cases, you need to provide buttons. Imagine that you just put a piece of meat and press the “defrost” button, after which the stove defrosts it itself. And no longer need to guess at what power to put, what time to set or what weight to enter.

    But with cooking, you will need already programs (which are silly to do built-in, since they never come in handy). As for you, for example, such a pattern:

    On the iPad, you have chosen from the list of recipes cooking meat with potatoes. AiPad says: "Put the meat on a plate and put in the microwave." Put it, press "start". After 10 minutes, the iPad says: "Now add the peeled raw potatoes." Add. Then the microwave does everything by itself. And you do not need any manuals, updates, guessing the time, etc.

    "The refrigerator will send spam"
    Rather, I meant that at any time you can connect to the refrigerator and find out if there is milk, vegetables, etc. in it. But, honestly, I must admit that this is not the most necessary function for the refrigerator. Perhaps it was not worth considering in the article. Since it only has the function to keep food fresh as long as possible, and this is not particularly related to the interface.

    “A lot of buttons is marketing, and a device with a small number of buttons looks cheap.”
    Marketing is such a tricky thing that I would not consider it in an article. She can be greatly manipulated. For example, the ability to control via iPad would already be a marketing move that would find its audience among the owners of these tablets.

    “Do I need to buy an iPhone ?!”
    Initially, this technique will be designed for an audience already with iPhones and iPads. And after 5 years, tablet computers will surely become as widespread as cell phones, laptops, etc. So this will not be a problem.

    “Search for iPhone every time you want to wash your socks ??”
    For basic tasks (emergency shutdown, the most popular washing modes, etc.), the buttons will remain on the panel. Everything that is rarely needed will simply disappear from it.

    When integrating such a technique into a smart home (and sooner or later everything will come to this), the iPad will become the same familiar control element as the remote control from the TV (only it will be easy to find, unlike the latter).

    Offtopic


    About the search for pairs of socks.
    This problem is solved easier, without the help of a typewriter:


    A selection of favorite quotes from the comments
    “But protection from the fact that the iPhone itself will be washed”

    “I think the twist should be the only one - how many degrees to heat. The heat capacity of the whole grub is about the same, and the weight can be measured ”

    “ As you know, 78.5% of any statistics are invented on the go ”

    Why I do not respond to comments in the comments themselves
    It took 3 hours to read 300 comments and write answers to them. If you answer each comment, it will leave all day, and the comments themselves will become 3 times more. At the same time, almost no one reads the answer to the comment except the author of the comment itself. The rest immediately pass them by and immediately write their comment. Therefore, a bunch of takes.

    “Apparently such comments are criticized by the author with criticism of him, therefore, he puts a minus in karma to everyone who is objectionable”
    But this is slander. I appreciate the criticism, as it is bitter, but useful. Allows you to sift out weak decisions and develop. Therefore, I’m never that I don’t put cons in karma, and I don’t even minus the comments on my posts.

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