Household appliances interfaces are 20 years behind

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

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

In this article I will look at how, from the point of view of user interaction, home appliances can become better today or at most in a couple of years.
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Immediately make a reservation, I will not consider new principles for the functioning of devices (for example, replacing a mechanical washing machine with ultrasonic or cleaning nano-robots), but will focus only on the interfaces of the devices.

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 scrolling through the instructions you can learn how to use your favorite program of quick washing, occasionally returning to the manual when you need to wash something special.

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


By default, each program erases at a safe temperature. All the other interface elements that are needed extremely rarely, in vain clutter management, making it difficult and incomprehensible.

I foresee righteous anger: “What about me in 2% of cases ?! For example, I need a high temperature for washing. And in general I like to set up a program taking into account the phase of the moon. ” About this - in the next section.

2. The tool must separate from the control interface.

The problem with a typical home appliance interface is that it is thoughtlessly trying to take into account all the device control capabilities. Even those that will be used once a year or not at all. 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 vary depending on the requirements for it (as a transition from push-button smartphones to touch devices).

And there are even such attempts. For example, embed a display in a styler. The display, however, is embedded resistive, unimaginably low quality and small size. And the interface on it is so terrible that it will not dream of a nightmare. All this leads to the fact that it becomes impossible to use the device at all.

“Well, after all, do not build into the washing machine iPad! It’s too expensive, ”an attentive reader would argue. That's right, embed - do not. It is necessary to give an opportunity to control the equipment from iPad, iPhone or even from the browser window.

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

What advantages may arise when the interface is separated from the executive part. Well, firstly, from the device itself, you can remove all unnecessary, leaving only the most necessary (like an emergency shutdown) and frequently used (washing in 25 minutes, etc.) functions, thereby simplifying 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 a tablet.

Secondly, you no longer need 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 a technique with a basic set of functions (cost reduction), you can then sell new programs to it. For example, for a microwave, these will be cooking programs, for a washing machine, cashmere washing programs, etc.

3. Technology should become more independent.

Now most devices are trying to put all the decisions on the shoulders of the user. At that time, as a variety of sensors have long started worth a penny, and can make almost any device much more independent.

For example. The microwave can determine the weight and temperature of the product put into it by itself, on the basis of this choosing the power and operating time. A washing machine can determine which items are put into it (colored, dark or white), as well as the type of fabric, and then select the appropriate wash program. Warn the refrigerator that it is almost empty and send pictures of what remains in it.

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

Conclusion

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

This is partly due to marketing - you can make one device, and sell it at twice the price simply by adding additional “programs” to it, without changing the rest.

But this will not last forever. And the one who is the first to actively introduce new technologies can incline the amorphous market.

UPD

Reply to comments

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

To begin with: what is the 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, with all the varieties of functions, programs, etc., the washing machine performs only one task: it turns dirty things into clean ones. Everything.

If she could do it automatically without spoiling things and would cope with this task well, why would you need temperature controllers, spin speeds, programs, etc.?

The only question is how to make it so that it does not spoil things and washed well. Many commentators, for some reason, are firmly convinced that this cannot be done. I know, for example, how a typewriter can determine the type of fabric and whether colored things are inside. In the end, you can always make a machine that washes well on a safe for all things mode.

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

“Can be even simpler, do not need 4 buttons”
Common remark. Ideally, it should be. More precisely, ideally, the machine should not be, but 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 chose 4 buttons because I myself have a certain task pattern, so I cited it for an example.

"Author - burn in hell!"
Many people perceived the post as an attempt to take away their warm tube twisters, mechanical buttons, etc. I did not pretend to that. :) Do not worry, the industry is so clumsy that the usual interfaces will be enough for a very long time.

"This technique does not suit me / my grandmother / all people in the world"
I do not argue, it does not fit all. Moreover, it is impossible to design such a thing that suits 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 (in fact, it is possible, but this is rather a theoretical question, again, not for Habr).

"Does not protect from a fool"
If a person puts red socks in a white pillowcase, the machine does not recognize the danger (or rather, I just do not know how to do it). But no existing machine will save you from this. Although, I think it is possible to invent a technology, and the task is amenable to solution (for example, powder that binds paint particles, preventing them from settling on other things).

“What about the temperature and spin speed. Such a machine will ruin my stuff! ”
I wrote about this above, but the question is so popular that it also carried it separately.

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

If you think that this is impossible to do, you give up too early.

“It's hard to do, expensive”
Electronics is rapidly becoming cheaper. A proposal to embed a digital-format video player into a television, expressed 10 years ago, would also have raised such an objection. Now even penny Chinese can play 4GB mkv movies with subtitles, lots of tracks, etc.

“You cannot embed a control display in the machine!”
I agree with this, and in the article I wrote that there is no point in embedding the control display in the machine. On the machine itself should be only the most necessary functions (for example, emergency shutdown and wash).

“We need twisters, knobs, tumblers, hidden control panel”
Once again ask the question: "If the machine can wash well and does not spoil the clothes, then why do you need all these adjustments?"

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

"The author never used the washer"
This is my favorite comment type. :) I use it often. The sportswear, cotton clothes, silk clothes of the girl, and bed linen are loaded into the laundry. For myself, I would leave the “quick wash” mode, for silk and woolen things - gentle washing. Careful washing comes in handy in case of any emergency situations.

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

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

“Producers are not idiots and know what they are doing.”
Manufacturers feel great, selling several models of technology, the same inside, but differing in 1 button and the price 2 times.

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

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

“Technique will make a mistake in the automatic settings and spoil everything”
Why do you think that this is a given and can not be circumvented?

About telepathy
Yes, the microwave doesn't know what you want to do: defrost the meat or cook it. But just for such cases it is necessary to provide buttons. Imagine that you simply put a piece of meat and press the "defrost" button, after which the stove defrosts it. And no longer need to guess at what power to put, what time to install or what weight to enter.

But with the preparation of the required programs already (which is stupid to do built-in, since they never come in handy). How do you, for example, such a pattern:

On the iPad, they chose meat and potatoes cooking from a list of recipes. AyPad says: "put the meat in a plate and put it in the microwave." Put, press "start". After 10 minutes, the iPad says: “now add peeled raw potatoes.” Add. Further the microwave does everything by itself. And do not need any manuals, reconnaissance, guessing time, etc.

"The fridge will send spam"
I rather had in mind that at any time you can connect to the refrigerator and find out if there is any milk, vegetables, etc. left in it. But, honestly I have to admit that this is not the most necessary function for a refrigerator. Perhaps it should not have been considered in the article at all. Since its function is only to keep products fresh as long as possible, and this is not particularly connected with the interface.

“A lot of buttons are 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 the article. She can be strongly manipulated. For example, the ability to control via iPad would already be a marketing ploy that would find its audience among the owners of these tablets.

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

"Search for iPhone every time you want to wash socks ??"
For the main tasks (emergency shutdown, the most popular washing modes, etc.), the buttons will remain on the panel. With it, everything that is needed rarely disappears.

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

Oftopik

Search for pairs of socks
This task is solved more easily, without the help of a typewriter:


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

“I think the spinner should be alone - how many degrees to heat. The heat capacity of the entire grub is about the same, and the weight can be measured "

“As is known, 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 the 300 comments and make answers to them. If you respond to each comment, it will leave all day, and the comments themselves will be 3 times more. At the same time, almost no one reads the response to the commentary except the author of the commentary itself. The rest immediately pass them by and immediately write their comment. Therefore, a lot of duplicates.

"Apparently the author is offended by such komenty with criticism addressed to him, so he puts a minus in karma to everyone who is disagreeable"
And this is slander. I appreciate the criticism, as it is bitter, but useful. Allows you to screen out weak decisions and develop. Therefore, I never do not put minuses into karma, and even comments to my posts are not minus.