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Via Hacker News:
www.theturnsignalblog.com: The Subtle Art of Designing Physical Controls for Cars

Quote:

In a previous article, I created a concept for in-car climate controls focusing on simple, physical controls. I've now found the time to turn this concept into reality through a rotary dial with dynamic haptic feedback. Along the way, I tested what makes dials feel intuitive, explored haptic design principles, and compared my approach to what carmakers are doing today.
...
[That's when I came across] Scott Bezek's open-source Smart Knob project. He used a brushless DC motor to emulate an analog dial. By playing with the force and resistance of the motor, it's possible to create fake detents that are totally controlled by software. This means you can simulate different types of haptic feedback, like different detent strengths and hard stops. Additionally, it has a vibration motor that simulates a button press when pushing down on the dial. Combined with a small display, it creates a fully customizable physical control that can simulate almost any type of interaction with a physical dial.

DIY haptic input knob: BLDC motor + round LCD
This could be anything, you could use it to control an EtchaSketch.