From the course: Learning Industrial Automation

Human-machine interface (HMI)

From the course: Learning Industrial Automation

Human-machine interface (HMI)

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- [Instructor] An HMI is a software application that presents information to the users about the state of a process, and also to accept the user and control instructions. HMI provides a graphical representation of the control system process and provides real time data acquisition. It monitors data and make it available to users as well as provides an interface for inputs from the users. One of the advantages that HMI provides is that they provide an interface between the user and the machine within the factory floor, a centralized control unit and a local interface of the process for a quick monitoring and adjusting. So as the name applies, HMI, human machine interface, allows humans and machines to interact. The size of HMI varies. It depends on the different applications as well as the vendors. Here are some examples of human machine interfaces provided by Ellen Bradley and Siemens. This is an example of a build-in HMI interface used for monitoring a continuous process for a mixing project. This HMI takes inputs, the status of the valve, and presents output like the level of the tank. HMI can be a small device or built in within the system.

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