Did you ever look at the landscape of generic devices and asked yourself why we accept that interactions are so mediocre?

Why do modern devices require us to read manuals? Shouldn’t they be able to teach us how to use them by providing clear visual signifiers and intuitive feedback?

Why are we starting from 0 whenever we get a new product. EVEN THOUGH THEY all look the same and share the same basic functions

The industry of household appliances works mostly like this: A few big OEM companies produce most of our Items whereas established brands put their interface and housing on the products.
So Most of our Devices are actually generic, because of the way we produce them. But does the interaction has to be generic as well?

When traditional input methods already provide so much feedback, triggering our muscle memory when using them and giving us clear cues about how they are meant to be usedAnd yes - sleek devices are easier to clean, but where is the interaction with the object? Why does it have to feel so 2 dimensional and generic to interact with them? And why do we have to connect this image with an annoying beeping sound while cleaning the stove?

We developed an interface that combines the analog quality of haptic feedback with the feature variety and cleanability of modern appliances. Its functions are designed to enhance, rather than compromise usability. (AS we remember :: Simple things should be simple, complex things should be possible.) ets have a closer 
look at what makes the any system work.

Starting with the face of any : The dial.

Its connected to the system via magnets - putting it onto the devices surface will trigger the start. The small convex geometry in between the dial and the top surface indicates where to put the dial and stabilizes it while turning.

The shape and material can vary, as long as we can fit magnets inside the dial.
We came up with a shape of the dial after a few iterations. Our focus was to create a dial that is easy to put on and off the surface and allows precise adjustment.
We decided to go for a transparent acrylic so that the dial could also be used to display information.

Part of the dial is also the NFC. Its an electric component which doesn’t need power to work. Just like the magnets that are built in the dial, which means: No charging needed for the dial.

Most importantly: it holds the personalized information of the User, which is chosen and transferred via a smartphone application.

Such as: preferred units, a minimal or more complex interface or even for impaired individuals who have troubles using their hands and need a ,more easy to use, dial or simply have troubles to see.

That leads us to the display of any. For the prototype we ended up using an LED panel with a fairly small pitch of 64 by 64 LEDs

Its brightness und compatibility is way better than of the LCD Screens and perforated surfaces we first tried to use

Despite of doubts from others, we managed to even build more complex interfaces - And we didn’t even got started on colors yet.

But how? The short answer is AI. It helped us to realize our idea to 95 percent with the first few prompts. 

we worked with different programs that enabled us to design the haptic feeling. We established a basic foundation of different simulated sensations, which

we could feed these into AI models like perplexity which was able to read preexisting libraries. We were basicly able to fine tune the feeling that this motor conveys by describing it in written text.


We AI generated our own programs which enabled us to simulate the feedback of the motor as well as the led matrix. Here you can see how I can draw my own interfaces and export them into code that i can display on the interface directly.

In a user scenario implementing this could mean that the interface could not only be adaptable to your specific needs but even personalised to the interfaces one desires.

But not only the panel was code driven.

Pressure sensors had to be embedded to the code as well: To start up and shut down the system, but also to navigate through the menu, simple pressure sensors are used

The first sensor is used in a simple mechanism, driven by gravity and the magnetic force from the dial. That starts and shuts down the system.

The second sensor is hidden behind the panel and reads the weight, when the dial is being pushed. That makes navigating possible.

The motor then gives haptic feedback, simulating the feeling of a physical button. 
A small magnetic encoder underneath the motor constantly reads its angle which then correlates to the UI on the LED Matrix on top.


We are able to apply minimal torque at specific angles which gives us haptic feedback that triggers our muscle memory. Tricking us into thinking that we turn an analog dial. 

Depending on the Context it might be more snappy, or feel more like a precise selection.

The motor can even work like an actor: simulating the feeling of a spring that you have to wind up (like the sensation that you get when you winding up a kitchen timer). We even used it for the alarm to oscillate and give us visual and auditive feedback. 



Now proven that “any” works - it shows that it could be used not only for household products. 
way more other use cases are possible - for example, such as machines in the industrial or medical sector, where hygienic or clean surfaces are needed.

Therefore you can say that ANY could be used anywhere, on anything and by anyone.