Touch technology has its place in consumer products, but shouldn’t just be used because its new and exciting. A couple of weeks back I highlighted some concerns over the use of touch technology in cars. Since then I had the opportunity to attend the Interior Design Show 2010 in Toronto. While I was there I spent time looking over various household appliances and thinking about their usability. What concerned me is that sometimes the technology in these appliances, while very cool, didn’t actually suit the needs of the user.

Take for example, a stove I saw with touch controls. This stove had an attractive glossy black surface, with touch sensitive areas seamlessly built into the surface. It looked very elegant, however I was immediately concerned about the usability of such a stove. The first scenario that came to mind was the user groping around for controls while trying to cook a difficult dish. It’s not difficult to imagine that the user might burn themselves by touching part of the element because there is no tactile or visual indication of where the touch-controlled area ends and the element begins.

Similarily in the comments of my pseudo-review of the new MyFord Touch dashboard, Jon and I discussed the issue of having these touch sensitive buttons in place of traditional dials and push buttons. The old input methods worked for years because they’re easy for the user to find when their attention is required on the road, and using them provides tactile feedback – be it the physical turning of the dial, or the depression of the button when you press it. Touch buttons and sliders will not lend the same convenience.

But now, an example of touch technology done correctly. A colleague showed me this video for the Delta touch faucet using Delta’s Touch₂O technology – a faucet that can be activated by a touch from the user. The purpose of the touch control is highlighted in the video below.

The video highlights how a user with dirty hands can tap the faucet with their wrist to activate the water – preventing the mess from spreading onto the faucet’s handle. A lot of the usual concerns about touch technology don’t apply to this situation. Since the faucet only preforms one action “turn on the water”, the user will not have to search for the correct button or area to touch. Additionally, it’s easy to tell if the action worked – the water will be there, or it won’t. Another piece of convenience of this product is that the traditional controls still work alongside this new fancy one, so that the user can make the transition to using the new feature easily.

If more industries can work on thinking of creative ways to use touch technology instead of trying to work them into already existing systems, I think that we’ll see more applications of touch technology that won’t aggravate or inconvenience the user.

Source: Smart Solutions: Touch₂O @ Delta Faucet’s Website
Source: Delta touch faucet, infinitely better than a pump handle @ dvice
Video: Delta Faucet “Hands” TV Ad @ Youtube