Control interface A control interface , or simply interface , was a means by which a person operating a particular piece of equipment could instruct the device or system as to what they desired , and the item being controlled could respond accordingly . It was possible to combine elements of one or more of each type within an overall control system structure as alternative means of accessing the controls . Control interfaces were commonly found on starship s and space station s as part of console stations and were critical to how crew members interact with computer systems like LCARS . A control interface could also refer to parts of the physical circuitry found in computer s and other machines . Exocomp s had a control interface in their internal circuitry that relayed commands from a control PADD . ( ) Data told Geordi La Forge to try a bypass of the shield control interface in an attempt to override the effects of the Iconian software transmission . ( ) There were five major types of control interface available to most space faring species : physical , audio , touch sensitive , motion sensitive , and neural . Physical . A physical control interface utilized physical buttons , switches , dials , and levers for data input purposes , and relied on physical indicators such as gauges , status lights , and visual screens / monitors for response purposes . Manipulation of a physical control was often accompanied by a visual or audio cue to indicate that the input had been accepted by the interface . A major use for physical controls , even after the introduction of more " advanced " systems , was the operation of small equipment requiring only relatively simple commands , such as personal weapon s , tricorder s , and communicator s . ( ; ) Interfaces of this type were the primary ones utilized by Starfleet in the 22nd century , and continued to be prevalent in the Federation Starfleet well into the late 23rd century . ( ; ) Some people , such as Tom Paris , felt that physical control interfaces were superior to other forms of interface , particularly in flight control operations . The belief was that the operator had a better " feel " for the responsiveness of the system . ( ) Audio . Audio control interfaces utilized spoken words or other transmitted sounds as both the primary means of data input and systems response , though response via other means could be requested by the operator . Twenty - third century computers made frequent use of audio interfaces , as did personal communicators , a trend which continued into the 24th century . ( ; ) Touch - sensitive . Touch - sensitive interfaces typically consisted of featureless panels with no physical instruments to manipulate at all . The entire surface could be controlled by computer to display a layout of marked areas which served the same function when the surface detected contact from the user . They were considered more " flexible " than physical interfaces , as the same physical unit could be rapidly reconfigured into whatever form a user might have required by calling up the appropriate control template . Starfleet began to experiment with touch - sensitive interfaces in the mid - 2280 s by incorporating them into the bridge of the prototype . ( ) " In the alternate reality , Starfleet incorporated touchscreen interfaces by 2258 . " ( ) Motion - sensitive . Motion - sensitive interfaces were generally used to control simple mechanisms , such as pocket doors and lights . Some such interfaces could also be found on the bridge of the in the mid - 23rd century . ( ) Neural . Neural interfaces directly transmitted commands from and information into the brain of the operator , thus bypassing the need to use comparatively inefficient physical manipulation of controls to complete a task . In the 23rd century , Commander Spock ' s brain was stolen by an alien race and connected to a neural interface to coordinate the life support systems of their habitat . A more primitive form of interface was used to maintain and control his body until the brain could be restored to it . ( ) Geordi La Forge used a VISOR to compensate for his blindness that contained Neural interface s . He also participated in an experiment using a neural - interface - controlled remote probe . ( ) Neural interfaces were frequently used in clandestine / criminal activities . ( ) Alice had a Neurogenic interface . ( " Alice " )