What is Human Machine Interface (HMI)?
Human Machine Interface is a tool that allows humans to communicate with machines on a basic level. To conduct this communication there’s an input and output. These things could be as simple as the keyboard you use to type information into your computer or as complicated as a control panel for an autimation system. What are the basics of Human Machine Interface?
An accessible tool
Human Machine Interface is a tool that people use all the time without realizing it. The desktop on your computer is a HMI — you have files or folders that you can click on that give the computer a command to open a certain program. Without this, how would you navigate the computer, and how would it know what to do? HMI is accessible to almost everyone, everywhere. Without HMI, people would not be able to interact with technology in the way that we do.
Customizable HMI
Not all Human Machine Interfaces are the same. In fact, most are quite different. Engineers can customize their Human Machine Interfaces to do exactly what they want. When engineers design a specific route of communication between human and machine, it simplifies the task that the user is trying to complete. Being able to customize HMI in this way makes it unique and functional across a broad range of professions.
HMI in everyday technology
While the idea of HMI may seem complicated, it’s really a simple system of input and output that users like you use all the time. Take your cell phone for example — you instruct the phone to do what you want by giving it input, a set of instructions that tells the machine what to do. The output of the machine could be signals or messages keeping you updated about what’s going on. This could be anything from alerting you about a text message to your alarm going off, because at some point you told the machine to do these things via input.
Always improving
What works for one profession will not work for another, and for that matter, what works for one profession at a point in time will not always work for that profession. This is why it’s important to know that Human Machine Interfaces are always improving. Engineers are always looking for ways to simplify the input and output system that the Human Machine Interface creates, therefore simplifying user experience and enhancing overall accessibility.
HMI repairs and PLC systems
HMI is often associated with various PLC systems because it is the UI in PLC system. The HMI typically resides in a Windows computer which communicates with a specialized computer in your plant i.e. your programmable logic controller (PLC). Other general repair houses can repair the electronics of most HMIs, but very few are able to handle the video section. We have deep expertise in both technologies under the same roof.
