A human-machine interface is a computer screen through which a human can control a machine. It can be a screen on a tablet computer or a desktop computer, or even a wearable, like a smartwatch.
The majority of HMIs in the industrial sector take the form of tablet computers, though there are also many desktop HMIs, and an increasing number of developers are releasing wearable HMIs, although they are few in number at the moment.
The reason why mobile HMIs seem to be favoured is that they can be located near the machine, or the user can be near the machine when using the device, to either directly control it in realtime or programme it to perform whatever operations at a subsequent time. [Read more…] about ‘Virtual dashboard’ sounds better than ‘human-machine interface’