Easy ain't easy. Sounds like something said by cultural catch-phrase artist and legendary baseball player Yogi Berra, but it sums up a conversation I had at the recent AHR Expo in Atlanta. It would not be surprising to anyone to observe that as we make things that are easier to interact with and operate, from one-click touchscreen interfaces to voice-activation to full automation, the more challenging it becomes for design engineers and manufacturers. Some would tell you that the nature, even the entire essence, of the progress of technology is to make things easier for the user, and moving toward this goal has always been a challenge to the creation of the products that adopt these innovations. Take for instance the automatic transmission. The first automatic gearbox existed in 1904. It had just two speeds, but due to the limitations of materials of the day, shifting was abrupt and failed frequently. Later gearboxes, or planetary transmissions, offered smoother shifting but still relied on the driver's skill.
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