Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Idea: One Button, Ten Commands




Usually when I get an idea, I quickly note it down on my phone so I won't forget it. Well, I wrote this 2 months ago, I decided to compile it into a blog post now. It goes like this.

Design a physical button that have fingerprints detectors. So when you press the button with your index finger, the button detects that you used your index finger, thus delegate the action to a given function to execute. When you use other fingers you get a totally different command. At this pace, you can have up to 10 commands for a given button.


For example, you can turn the light on and off, open and close the fan, switch the AC on and off, switch on TV on and off, play DVD, switch PC on. All with one button.


So Imagine how this can simplify a complex interface. You can design a complete system with 3 buttons only. Of course this design have flaws, one of them is that its very difficult to execute actions simultaneously. For example you cannot press same button with two of your fingers to execute two actions at the same time, this limits your actions to a degree.

5 comments:

  1. Hussein, this sounds like a great idea, but anything that requires special hardware (this one yet to be developped?) face a steep acceptance slope.

    I remember a compact keyboard a decade or so ago, that used the ten fingers but was such a mental gymnastic to learn that it tanked. Also look at the slow acceptance of a single fingerprint to secure laptops, so far IBM only I think. Or the slow implementation of iris recognition @ airports, even tho it offers overwhelming advantages. And do you remember IR ports for data transfer?

    Didn't mean to douse your creativity... Please do thinking outside the box, that's what I like the most about you! 'l8r, A

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  2. It's easier to have two buttons that "open" and "close" rather than have one button that does both but each with a different finger, why? cause I'll keep forgetting which finger does what.

    Anyway as I commented earlier, this is a brilliant idea if executed well.

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  3. Andrew:

    Thanks for your feedback :D
    of course nothing is perfect, and you maybe right, the idea need to be tuned, and may not use widely and publicly but for very special projects perhaps...



    titi:

    thanks for keeping up with my blog even when i deactiveted my fb :D

    as u said this solution will be feasible if you have so many actions that you need to reduce number of buttons..

    only of course if implemented correctly

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  4. Bs lazem na7fe'9 kel 9ob3a shinu faydat'ha :p
    i liked the idea a lot

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  5. eee lazm,
    but it comes with practice :D

    thanks koko

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