The well-known user interface from Android apps of the mobile world is
increasingly used in industrial contexts.
The days when industrial devices were controlled via control panels with lamps
and physical buttons are fast disappearing. Today, many systems are so complex
that it is no longer practical to control them from physical control panels. At
the same time, the static solutions of the past are not geared to the growing
demands of innovation speed that is also predominant in today’s industrial
environment. Therefore, there is a growing trend toward flexible user interfaces
based on touchscreens and software-based operating menus that compactly yet
simply present the operator with status information and selection options and
which are easily updated with new functions via software. Here, Android is an
obvious solution, as it provides both the desired flexibility while,
graphically, it appears just as integrated as we know it from the world of
mobile applications.
“In industry, they are no longer settling for the heavy static control solutions
of the past, but are now increasingly asking for control solutions with the same
flexibility and finesse we are familiar with from our mobile phones,” says Søren
W. Mathiasen Vice President Sales & Marketing at Prevas A/S.
A good example is the controls for the industrial oven that Prevas designed and
now regularly maintains for the company Hounö. A modern industrial oven must be
capable of much more than simply heating food. It has to be able to run
preprogrammed “recipes”, allow updates with new recipes, clean itself, etc., in
addition to safety requirements for logging of all events on the oven, so proper
food handling can be documented later.
“The oven’s complexity and need for regular updates alone made the choice of a
software-based graphical user interface obvious,” says Mathiasen. “But because
the oven is also used by inexperienced operators, such as for gas station bake
-offs, it was important to develop a solution that was as easy to operate as,
e.g., a mobile phone. Here, Android was the natural design choice, as it both
allows a graphic look and feel that corresponds to the operator’s experience
from the world of mobile phones and is a quick way to create a particularly
integrated user interface, as many of the components, such as spin buttons, are
freely available.”
The trend towards using Android in industry is just now taking off, perhaps
because of ordinary caution combined with a general fear of using open-source
solutions in production-critical environments. But that fear is ungrounded,
Mathiasen believes: “Open-source solutions are at least as safe as a
specifically designed dedicated solution. Typically, the open-source solution is
far better tested by its many other users in different contexts.
For further information, please contact
Søren W. Mathiasen, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Prevas A/S
E-mail: soren.mathiasen@prevas.dk, Mobile: +45 2099 7601
Henrik Møller, President, Prevas A/S
E-mail: henrik.moller@prevas.dk, Mobile: +45 2949 9202
About Prevas
With cutting edge expertise in embedded systems and industrial IT, Prevas
contributes by providing innovative solutions that create growth. Prevas was
founded in 1985, and the company is the main supplier and development partner to
leading companies in industries such as life science, telecommunications,
vehicle, defense, energy and engineering. Offices are located in Sweden,
Denmark, Norway and India. The company has approximately 600 employees. Prevas
has been listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm since 1998.
For more information, see www.prevas.com.
