"In the area of consumer electronics, multi-touch has not only changed the ergonomics of devices, it has changed user habits as well. In industrial automation, this technology has the potential to make machine operation more intuitive, faster and safer - in essence, to bring about a revolution in ergonomics for machine and system visualization units. B&R has introduced devices that allow multi-touch input in industrial environments," said a company spokesperson.
In industrial automation, there has been a strong and consistent trend toward touch screens for over a decade. "Touch screens are not likely to completely replace devices with physical keys," said Raimund Ruf, Manager of the HMI Business Unit at B&R. "Nevertheless; they will continue to advance into more and more areas due to their overall versatility. At the same time, we are seeing much more emphasis being placed on user ergonomics, both in how panel hardware is arranged as well as in the design of the user interface."
The multi-touch technology we are familiar with from smartphones, which can detect and evaluate the presence of two or more points of contact with the screen at the same time, offers the next big leap in innovation in the field of machine manufacturing.
"Multi-touch promises a significant increase in usability by simplifying system operation while increasing the level of safety at the same time. Operations where one hand is used to open up a menu while the other hand sets parameters are definitely a possibility. This would eliminate the need to jump back and forth between sub-menus while increasing overall clarity in the application. The operator is able to get where he needs to go faster because complex menu layers can be eliminated. Handling lists would also be simplified since the operator could simply scroll through the content instead of having to rely on narrow scrollbars," said the spokesperson.
Operational safety can also be increased by implementing methods such as blocking certain actions until an additional button is pressed simultaneously with the other hand. Even if this doesn't completely replace dead-man's controls just yet, multi-touch operation used in this way can still prevent critical operating steps from being carried out unintentionally.
B&R has developed its own multi-touch technology in the form of an ergonomic 21.5" Full HD Automation Panel that resembles an oversized iPad. "Its solid glass surface makes it easy to clean and offers the operator excellent haptic properties. Multi-touch technology can make machine operation more intuitive, faster, and safer," said the spokesperson.
For more information contact:
Yvonne Eich
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
B&R Industrial Automation Corp.
1250 Northmeadow Parkway, S-100
Roswell, GA 30076
770-772-0400
Yvonne.eich@br-automation.com
www.br-automation.com