History Main / OperatorIncompatibility

* The advent of metahumanity in ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' prompted product manufacturers to cater to dwarfs and trolls, who are very disproportionate to humans, elves, and orks. Most gear cannot be used as-is by dwarfs (who have shorter legs and bigger hands) and trolls (who are three meters tall with horns and ''enormous'' hands) and gear designed for them is unwieldy in others' hands. This contributes to racial prejudice; trolls regularly grow to be over ''eight feet tall'', meaning many of them need to ''crawl'' aboard a subway car. More humorously, there are dwarf communities where ceilings are only five feet high, meaning ''humans'' have to crawl through them.

* This becomes an issue in ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'': the Gold Ranger powers were designed for use by a Triforian. While they're HumanAliens, their biology differs from them (including being composed of three personalities that can split apart if things go wrong). As such, when the powers are given to Adam, he eventually runs into serious issues due to his human biology.

* In ''Literature/TheShipWho Won'', an upper class of humans in a LostColony uses magic-seeming technology that requires all five fingers to be pressed into appropriately placed recesses. These were ''not'' made for human hands, but the 'mages' wear realistic-looking prostheses extending their thumb and pinkie fingers appropriately. They keep lower classes as a downtrodden ServantRace, genetically altered to have animal features, and [[{{Fingore}} amputate a finger]] from each lower-class infant to prevent them from using this technology.

In certain settings, FinaglesLaw ensures these assumptions will cause disaster. Sure, sometimes it's a bonus, or even a built-in feature, that the alien saboteurs can't use the ArtifactOfDoom properly, but usually it's just a pain.

* In ''Literature/TheShipWho Won'', an upper class of humans in a LostColony uses magic-seeming technology that requires all five fingers to be pressed into appropriately placed recesses. They keep the lower classes as a downtrodden ServantRace, genetically altered to have animal features, and [[{{Fingore}} amputate a finger]] from each lower-class infant to prevent them from using this technology.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* [=CAPTCHAs=], those things where you have to prove that you're a human and not a bot by entering the text from an image, have quite a difficult time distinguishing between bots and blind humans-- because speech synthesizers and Braille displays can't render images. For this reason, an increasing number of CAPTCHA-protected sites include an option to have the characters spoken at you (which would benefit the hearing blind but not bots or the deaf-blind, though it's somewhat unlikely a person who is both deaf and blind would be operating a standard computer).
* A remarkable number of tools assume (often with dangerous consequences) that the user is right-handed.
** This includes nearly all bullpup firearms (magazine well behind the trigger), as attempting to fire them left-handed will fling red-hot cartridge cases into the user's face or down their collar. Many newer bullpup weapons can be adjusted for left-handed firing in the field, but heaven help you if you then pick up the wrong rifle by mistake, or a right-handed soldier picks up yours.
** Most firearms in general have safeties suited to right handed users. A leftie will either need to engage/disengage the safety in an awkward manner or use one with an ambidextrous safety.
** Left-handers have real issues using right-handed scissors.
[[/folder]]

Sister trope to HumanFurnitureIsAPainInTheTail.

* ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'': [[GentleGiant Hiromi]] is almost always seen in one of Section 2's trailers because he's simply too ''tall'' to operate one of their Labors. The one occasion we see him in one, his knees are up around his chest, preventing him from operating the controls.

* Since he's a robot with non-human fingers, ComicBook/AtomicRobo can't [[TinmanTypist operate a touch screen]] at all. In one scene, he's actually seen complaining to Steve Jobs about how useless the [=iPad=] is to him. Later, when Robo has to answer a call on a smartphone, he literally can't, for the same reason. Why he doesn't just use a capacitive stylus [[RuleOfFunny is unknown]].

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* One ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'' strip featured a villain who dedicated his time searching for a tunic that gave godlike power... without learning that it was designed for a being with six tentacles and a very narrow waist.
[[/folder]]

-->"My Ph.D. is in ''dance''."

* In ''Film/District9'', alien weapons can only be used by those with the alien's arm, presumably due to some sort of DNA compatibility. [[spoiler: Then, of course, the protagonist ultimately gets an alien appendage and fires at will.]]
* In the movie ''Film/JudgeDredd'', the fact that a Judge's weapon can only be used by that particular Judge [[spoiler: or someone sharing that Judge's DNA]] becomes a plot point.
* ''Film/{{Dredd}}'''s Lawgiver is more like the source material's version. Kay attempts to use Anderson's Lawgiver [[spoiler: and gets [[AnArmAndALeg his arm]] [[StuffBlowingUp blown off]] for his trouble.]]
* In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossThe8thDimension'', Buckaroo gets confused at the climax when trying to fly the Red Lectroid Thermapod because its controls are, among other things, designed to be operated partially by the pilot's bare (and presumably prehensile) feet. He therefore has to turn control of the ship over to the Black Lectroid John Parker, who unfortunately "failed driving school."
* Subverted in ''Film/TotalRecall1990'', when Quaid activates the alien reactor. The activating mechanism is in the shape of a three-fingered alien hand, but Quaid just puts his fingers Spock-style and activates it anyway.

* In ''The Colors of Space'', by Creator/MarionZimmerBradley, humans need to be in stasis to use the FTL drive. [[spoiler:Or so the aliens who invented the drive claimed.]]
* In the ''Literature/HeecheeSaga'', by Creator/FrederikPohl, the vessels left behind by the alien Heechee have V-shaped seats which are uncomfortable for human crew.
* Creator/MarionZimmerBradley's ''Literature/{{Darkover}}'' series:

* In one ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' book, our heroes steal a Bug fighter that is usually piloted by a Taxxon (a really, really big centipede with maybe six or eight arms), and is here piloted by an Andalite with two arms. Ax complains the ship seemed to have been designed for a ''mutant'' Taxxon, one with "twice the usual amount of appendages". [[DrivesLikeCrazy The flying afterwards is fun, that's for sure.]]
* In the Literature/LiadenUniverse novel ''Plan B'', Val Con's attempt to steal an Yxtrang fighter jet is complicated by the fact that it's designed for a race of people who average at least a foot taller than him and he can't even reach the foot pedals unassisted. He's able to improvise leg extensions and other tools to get himself off the ground, but once the Yxtrang start shooting at him the fact that the safety restraints also weren't designed for someone his size becomes a serious issue.
* One of the characters in Creator/HarryTurtledove's ''Literature/{{Worldwar}}'' books is Kassquit, a human woman raised by the alien, lizardlike Race. She must wear artificial "fingerclaws" to be able to use the Race's computers.
* The ''Literature/MyTeacherIsAnAlien'' series involves thousands of alien species living peacefully on one massive space station. This leads to some rather complex issues--for example, when the human protagonist first needs to use a bathroom he has to answer a series of rather personal questions to the computer, causing serious discomfort before he finds a toilet that will actually work for his anatomy.
* Similar to the situation in ''The Colors of Space'', the Tyr in C S Friedman's ''The Madness Season'' claim that FTL travel can only be performed by them because the method that they use causes a state of absolute terror for any other living thing in hyperspace. [[spoiler:It is later uncovered that there is more than one method of FTL travel, but the Tyr suppressed those in order to maintain control of the galaxy.]]
* In Anne Mason's ''The Stolen Law'', Vallusians have six fingers on each hand - two opposable thumbs. This leaves human protagonist Kira unable to work the gun they want her to train with, as its grip has two triggers that must be pulled simultaneously; more seriously, when an important piece of technology is sabotaged, it reveals the existence of a Vallusian traitor, as none of the other known races would have been capable of manipulating the necessary controls - she figures out how to hit the second thumbpad by laying one of her hands on top of the other, but that would have just made things more difficult, as there was only room for one ''arm'' in the closed space where the device was located.
** In the previous book, ''The Dancing Meteorite'', a Vallusian suggests helping the Arraveseans by piloting one of their ships, since it was originally a Vallusian model. Kira has to point out that the ship has been modified to suit the Arraveseans, who are less than five feet tall and have three arms and twelve hands.
* Averted in the novelization of the movie, ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'', since the Gunstar is capable of detecting the species of its pilot and modifying its cockpit and controls to match.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'' [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]]:

** In the Wraith Squadron trilogy there are several mentions of the fact that starfighters are designed for the average humanoid size, and that means there are species at either end of the size scale who can't become fighter pilots, regardless of their other qualifications. At one end of the scale, there's [[LargeRunt "Runt"]], from a species who usually top out over two meters tall, who only just fits inside his fighter's cockpit. At the other end, there's a running joke about how there'll never be an Ewok fighter pilot because he wouldn't be able to reach the controls. [[spoiler:Near the end of the trilogy, Lara meets an Ewok pilot who uses prosthetic arm and leg extensions to overcome this problem.]]

** In ''The Truce at Bakura'', it's stated that Ssi-Ruu paddle beamers (and other technology) are utterly incompatible with Human technology due to their unusual life-force powered energy cells.
*** On a smaller note, Ssi-Ruu paddle beamers are designed for use by said aliens and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Dev Sibwarra]] actually has to have one custom made for his use.
* In the Literature/ChanurNovels, Tully as the lone human in a ship crewed by a race of CatFolk aliens has to use a pick to operate the recessed controls usually operated by the Hani's retractable claws.
* The ''VideoGame/XBeyondTheFrontier'' {{novelization}} ''Farnham's Legend'' has a Teladi, a [[LizardFolk reptilian species]], have trouble with the computers on a wrecked Boron space station because they were designed for a species [[FishPeople with tentacles]].
* In "Literature/ScannersLiveInVain", only those who have been through the Haberman process (which basically involves blocking most of their sensory and some of their autonomic nerves; "Habermans" can see, but can't taste, smell, feel, or hear, and they have a mechanical control for their heart rate) can withstand the effects of the space drive; unmodified humans would go insane from what's known as the Great Pain and must make the trip while unconscious. Most of a ship's crew is composed of criminals sentenced to the Haberman process, supervised by a small number of volunteers who enjoy ''tremendous'' status and are allowed to occasionally use a technology that reverses the effects, turning their senses back on temporarily.
* A brief gag in ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything'' says that Slartibartfast had been planning to spend his retirement learning the octraventral heebiephone, even though he knew perfectly well he didn't have enough mouths.

* Occurs in ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' when anyone other than D'Argo tries to operate Lo'la. The ship requires D'Argo's DNA to function so it's...messy for someone else to use it.

'''The Doctor:''' ... You've got three fingers.\\
'''Donna:''' Oh yeah!
* A lot of tech in ''Franchise/{{Stargate|Verse}}'' can only be operated by someone with the ATA (Ancient Technology Activation) gene. Luckily a procedure is developed that can give most people this trait, though those blessed by the plot are still inexplicably better at it.
** As well as some of the Goa'uld technology (e.g. hand devices) are only usable by someone who is or was a host for a Goa'uld (or Tok'ra) symbiote.

* ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' supplement ''Terror from the Stars''. The Mi-Go have a LightningGun which they fire by grasping it and altering its electrical resistance. Humans who want to fire it have to clip one of its wires.
* ''The Mechanoids'' from Palladium Books features telekinetic aliens. Their devices usually have the activation switches on the inside of the casing for a cleaner look. Human intruders who want to, say, use the elevator have to saw a hole and flip the switch manually.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' artifacts, manses, and demenses can, with a few exceptions allowing mortal use, be fully utilized by any essence wielder. Some have further restrictions on who can use them. For example, ''The Daiklave of Conquest'' can only be wielded by Dawn Caste Solars while ''The Hand of the Great Maker'' requires Chaos-Repelling Pattern (a Solar Charm) to attune and Wyld-Shaping Technique (another Solar Charm) plus either a five-dot Solar Hearthstone or a Protoshinmaic Vortex to be useful.
* The advent of metahumanity in ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' prompted product manufacturers to cater to dwarfs and trolls, who are very disproportionate to humans, elves, and orks. Most gear cannot be used as-is by dwarfs (who have shorter legs and bigger hands) and trolls (who are three meters tall with horns and ''enormous'' hands) and gear designed for them is unwieldy in others' hands. This contributes to racial prejudice; trolls regularly grow to be over ''eight feet tall'', meaning many of them need to ''crawl'' aboard a subway car. More humorously, there are dwarf communities where ceilings are only five feet high, meaning ''humans'' have to crawl through them.

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' has the Clans run into a case of building the cart before you had a horse in the development of [[MiniMecha ProtoMechs]] as the genetically engineered Clan forces didn’t have a phenotype that could pilot the concept natively, and introducing an actual cockpit would have been too space-consuming. They came to a compromise with utilizing washed out Aerospace pilots and augmenting them with [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul enhanced imaging implants.]] The diminutive size of the pilots on top of the physiological adaptations meant for resisting high-gs managed to help stave off the more deleterious effects of the EI system, meaning the designers could free up much needed spare room by making the ‘cockpit’ just a cavity for the pilot to climb into and the EI does the rest. This, of course, means that you have to be tiny and wired up to use them.

* Subverted in the end of ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'' when [[spoiler:Samus escapes the exploding mother ship in a Space Pirate ship. The controls are glowing pads designed to be used by the pirate's claws, but Samus operates them just fine.]]
* Mentioned briefly in ''VideoGame/XCOMUFODefense'' with the Alien Grenades, which had some sort of weird psionically-activated arming mechanism that human engineers had to remove (with ''extreme'' care) and replace with a conventional timer. Alien firearms apparently have some sort of DNA scanner that locks out users not on the approved list, requiring a software hack to get around.
** Likewise with its sequel ''VideoGame/{{XCOM2}}'' for pretty anything used by ADVENT forces, which, according to the novel ''Resurrection'' will either set off homing beacons or outright [[SelfDestructMechanism explode]] if the Resistance attempts to use or tamper with it.

* Celia's ill-conceived magic artifact in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' requires a jolt of electricity to activate. Not all humans can shoot magic out of their fingertips? How was she to ''know'' that? Humans don't even have an entry in the Monster Manual anymore! A particularly justified case, as Celia has very little contact with humans and regularly pals around with dryads, mermaids, fire spirits, etc. - she's used to ''racial'' abilities, and humans having such a wild array of abilities confuses the hell out of her.
** On the flipside, an attempt to hang Belkar fails because he doesn't weigh enough to pull the noose taut enough to snap his neck.
* A painless execution method, invented by a shapeshifting race in ''Webcomic/{{Starslip}}'', requires 21 appendages, so humans can't use it. Female humans, anyway.
* ''Webcomic/{{Subnormality}}'''s [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page432.html Sphinx]] can't watch movies in modern formats, because her paws are too large to pick up [=DVDs=] or type on a keyboard.

* Why Annie/Anakin has to drive in the pod race in ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids''. Originally, Pete/R2-D2 was supposed to drive because of his [[MinMaxing min-maxed robotic reflexes]], until the players realized that since the pod was described to be small and have handlebars, the limbless robot R2-D2 couldn't just plug in and drive, and the other adult characters couldn't fit. So they brought in a child who ''could'' fit.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' the backup hull panel release controls at the bottom of the pool in Cetacean Ops are ''not'' designed for flippers, to the chagrins of the two belugas running the department.

* Why Annie/Anakin has to drive in the pod race in ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids''. Originally, Pete/[=R2D2=] was supposed to drive because of his [[MinMaxing min-maxed robotic reflexes]], until the players realized that since the pod was described to be small and have handlebars, the limbless robot [=R2D2=] couldn't just plug in and drive, and the other adult characters couldn't fit. So they brought in a child who ''could'' fit.

* ''Webcomic/{{Subnormality}}'''s [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page432.html Sphinx]] can't watch movies in modern formats, because her paws are too large to pick up DVDs or type on a keyboard.

* ''Webcomic/{{Subnormality}}'''s [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page432.html Sphinx]] can't watch movies in modern formats.
** She can, as there are some tools that are used by people with little or no use of their fingers to pick up objects like [=CDs=] and [=DVDs=], and with keyboards, she can hold a chopstick in her paws. There are some quadriplegics who type that way.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[folder: Anime & Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Comic Strips]]

[[folder: Films -- Animated]]

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/{{District 9}}'', alien weapons can only be used by those with the alien's arm, presumably due to some sort of DNA compatibility. [[spoiler: Then, of course, the protagonist ultimately gets an alien appendage and fires at will.]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder: Tabletop RPG ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

** Likewise with its sequel XCOM 2 for pretty anything used by ADVENT forces, which, according to the novel ''Resurrection'' will either set off homing beacons or outright [[SelfDestructMechanism explode]] if the Resistance attempts to use or tamper with it.

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

** And let's not even talk about right-handed scissors, which left-handers have real issues using.

* In the Creator/CordwainerSmith "Scanners" stories, only those who have been through the Haberman process (which basically involves blocking most of their sensory and some of their autonomic nerves; "Habermans" can see, but can't taste, smell, feel, or hear, and they have a mechanical control for their heart rate) can withstand the effects of the space drive; unmodified humans would go insane from what's known as the Great Pain and must make the trip while unconscious. Most of a ship's crew is composed of criminals sentenced to the Haberman process, supervised by a small number of volunteers who enjoy ''tremendous'' status and are allowed to occasionally use a technology that reverses the effects, turning their senses back on temporarily.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]

* Stairs were impossible for [[Series/DoctorWho Daleks]] to use until they gained levitation technology. ''Series/{{QI}}'' speculates that ramps are a Dalek conspiracy.
** Subverted in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E5ThePoisonSky The Poison Sky]]'':