[devane617]

Most new cars slam on brakes before hitting something. I say embrace technology and make it work for you. Ditching these systems is kind of nutty at this stage.

[gaijin]

maybe bad training and woman stuff but I’d say that the real fear for the future is....

CHINA.

Who knows what cr*p they put in the stuff they make.

[Rashputin]

IOW, it wasn't broke but they spent a ton of money to fix it.

I'm just glad it's the Navy where they worry about going down with the ship right along with everyone else so they're willing to admit a mistake and actually undo some mindless "improvement" that obviously wasn't widely tested for a period of time before it was done.

[cuban leaf]

FWIW, I hate touch screens. I’ve used touch screen keyboards and they REALLY suck. You need tactile feedback to know you hit the right key. Heck, look at the push buttons on the Apollo spacecraft. All of the buttons are in a little hole so it’s very difficult to hit the wrong one.

Touch screens are nice for some things, but are a real pain for others.

And one of the biggest pains is when they don’t respond.

[red-dawg]

I stood helm duty many times, it's like trying to steer a bathtub with a butter knife, but I got used to it.
I don't think I could be any good with a helm that resembled a video game.

[chrisser]

All these changes sound good. Made me wonder why they didn't think of things like helm commonality prior to building these boats.

But then the more I thought about it, I suspect there were probably several old timers who raised objections to the touch screens and difficulty finding heading and controlling throttles. Probably were overruled and forced into retirement for not embracing the culture of the time.

[JudgemAll]

Control it with your smartphone not a good idea?

Who would have thought?

A similar issue with the new Boeing tanker, where they did away with the kid flying the boom visually in the back with a dude in the pilot cockpit using cameras and semi automated system. The lens distortions and what not make it real problematic.

The more interfaces you add, the more problems

[jughandle]

Maybe I’m old but a touchscreen throttle sounds like trouble waiting. (I realize it’s a bigger and heavier craft but I’m picturing a couple of our rough fishing trips and trying to manage a touchscreen while being hammered by the ocean...)

[Seruzawa]

One hit and the electronics go out and you are rudderless. Really really stupid.

[bigbob]

I can run AIS on a Raspberry Pi that costs about $100, so add about $5000 for gov’t procurement and a nice industrial enclosure and you’ve got that solved.

[DivineMomentsOfTruth]

Navy Reverting DDGs Back to Physical Throttles

THAT is Progress!

[yuleeyahoo]

Why did anyone think this was a good idea in the first place?

How were they supposed to control the ship when the power went out? In my own service experience, this was not an unusual occurrence.

[GreyFriar]

To me, this is a good example of a verified reason to go back to “a hands on Navy.”

[bitt]

p

[TXnMA]

Ping!

Maybe -- just maybe -- someone is beginning to take into account the principle of, "If it ain't broke -- don't 'fix' it"..

BTW, I haven't been able to determine if this helm/throttle (touchscreen) "fix" was implemented on the Fitzgerald. I didn't see it mentioned anywhere -- and, would still bet on "cockpit error due to panic reaction"...

Never conned anything larger than a cabin cruiser, but, to me, having the feel of the throttle levers in my hand is an element of control I definitely wouldn't want to relinquish. Can't imagine replacing that "hands-on" control with a stupid, zero feedback touch screen!

[Bratch]

[minnesota_bound]

The navy is making the same mistake in the future. See Star Trek Next Generation documentries.... all touch screens : )