Control Interfaces

A control interface, or simply interface, is a means by which a person operating a particular piece of equipment can instruct the device or system as to what they desire, and the item being controlled can respond accordingly.

There are five major types of control interface element groups: physical, audio, touch sensitive, motion sensitive, and neural. It is possible to combine elements of one or more of each type within an overall control system structure as alternative means of accessing the controls.

Physical Element Group
A physical control interface utilizes physical buttons, switches, dials, and levers for data input purposes, and relies on physical indicators such as gauges, status lights, and visual screens/monitors for response purposes.

A major use for physical controls, even after the introduction of more "advanced" systems, is the operation of small equipment, usually with little to no electronics, requiring only relatively simple commands.

Audio Element Group
Audio control interfaces utilize spoken words or other transmitted sounds as primary means of data input and/or systems response, though systems that respond via other means in addition to audio exist.

Touch Sensitive Element Group
Touch-sensitive interfaces typically consist of featureless monitors with no physical instruments to manipulate at all. The entire surface could be controlled by the operation software to display a layout of marked areas which serve the same function when the surface detects contact from the user.

They are considered more "flexible" than physical interfaces, as the same physical unit can be rapidly reconfigured into whatever form a user might require by calling up the appropriate control template.

Motion Sensitive Element Group
Motion-sensitive interfaces typically consist of a visual or gyroscopic sensor to detect motion, and an instruction set to interpert it.

Neural Element Group
Neural interfaces directly transmit commands from and information into the brain of the operator, thus bypassing the need to use manipulation of controls to complete a task. They are used to operate Robotic and Nanotechnological Augmentations, Biotic Implants and Bio-amps, and other such cybernetic wetware, and form the very basis of Computer-Made world Simulations