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FEATURE PCs and HMIs
Touch technology will not eliminate physical controls
W
ith the advantages of a growing computer and electronics industry, and the continually declining
cost of developing new technologies, HMI design is entering a new stage. Each upgrade enables users to operate machine and control applications better using simpler and more accurate methods, thereby improving productivity. Despite recent advancements in industrial HMIs, such as expanded displays, accelerated communication speeds and other powerful features, their design and interactivity means there is still room for improvement in terms of satisfying consumer demands: but what do they require and what will drive these HMIs to become mainstream? Just like other HMI applications, such as those in the automobile, entertainment, electronics, medical equipment, banking and service industries, industrial HMI applications have matured. Indeed, following the infi ltration of IIoT on the factory fl oor, HMI technology has become essential to the fulfi lment of intelligent production and the integration of system functions. With this trend, alongside the ever-
growing demand for more features that allow easy and convenient access to diverse data, it becomes necessary to upgrade and enhance HMIs accordingly. Particularly for cloud servers collecting big data, how is it possible to improve HMIs so they realise more eff ective data feedback? This is a crucial issue that contemporary users aim to solve. Also, the increasing prevalence of consumer electronics in recent years has sparked a demand for more intuitive machine communication interfaces.
In touch with reality In response, most of the industrial sector has begun equipping traditional control equipment with touchscreen technology to enhance the integration of HMIs into the control workfl ow. In addition, in many high-end industrial sectors, cutting- edge AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) technologies now have
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full integration with the manufacturing process to enable remote monitoring and machine control. Although AR and VR have endless potential for industrial applications to optimise and streamline the process workfl ow, most factories still prefer using HMIs with physical control units for human-machine interaction. Buttons on machines and equipment are still evident everywhere in factories – people still rely on the physical sensation of administering a control action. Pushbuttons are ideal for providing tactile feedback because they give a physical confi rmation of a key press that virtual buttons can’t provide. Furthermore, virtual buttons do not have a fi xed position and, due to deployment in close proximity to other on-screen menus, input errors are common. As a result, the replacement of physical buttons with virtual buttons on industrial production lines will almost certainly lead to an increase in error incidence rate.
Physical buttons integration HMI designers must consider both the user experience and product features to attract consumers, that’s why touchscreen HMIs with a small number of physical buttons are already widespread. Such integrative designs reduce product weight, are more aesthetically pleasing and also fl exible. Touchscreen HMIs allow users to navigate the device using a single screen instead of several pre-confi gured buttons that take
up space. Could this lead to integrated designs dominating the industrial HMI market in 5-10 years’ time? Advantech, a provider of advanced industrial HMI solutions, has developed a new HMI product, SPC-800, that follows recent trends for a touchscreen interface combined with physical buttons, optimising operational safety and ensuring effi cient processing.
As HMI development history shows, following trends does not always yield success. Instead, innovating existing mainstream trends is the best way of creating real opportunities. For instance, since physical button confi guration is generally linked to performing a single function, functional scaleability is quite limited. To overcome this, Advantech’s SPC-800 includes an integrated customisable expansion unit, to confi gure physical buttons according to usage requirements. Regarding the long-term development of HMIs, in order to stand out from all the rapidly developing technologies in today’s highly-competitive market, product designers must consider the ever-changing customer demands. Advantech’s HMI products will continue to incorporate latest technologies to enable more human- machine interaction possibilities.
CONTACT:
Advantech
www.advantech.com
Automation | November 2022
27
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