Graphical Interface for Gauges

Graphical Interface for Gauges

As I was working on the tank interface, I was also thinking about how to solve a data input problem with the gauge user interface. The gauge input is done by moving the dial around the gauge with the finger. That works well except for fine adjustments. For one thing, the finger tends to be on top of the dial making it difficult to make a precise setting. Secondly, the dial is very sensitive, also making it difficult to set it to an exact number. The actual reading for the dial is given in the four digits directly under the dial.

My thought is to put a slider under the dial in order to input the more precise measurement. Thus, the rough measurement can be input by moving the dial itself. For fine adjustment, the slider is used. (Note that the white boxes are for debugging only, and are not a part of the user interface.)

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Yesterday’s Data

The previous day’s data is displayed on the slider, as shown by the red triangle on the image. This makes data entry extremely simple in situations where the gauge doesn’t change much from day to day.

A simple movement of the slider is all that would be needed to input the current day’s information.