Automatica 2023 : Wireless and functionally safe – the HMI of the future
In the last 10 years, smartphones and the underlying technologies have fundamentally changed operating concepts in many industries. However, functionally safe applications have rarely been affected. In the future these technologies will also become more and more prevalent in safety HMI applications and enable completely new use cases. Many companies have experimented with mobile consumer devices; ACD Elektronik has developed an industrial mobile solution. You can experience our mobile HMI and other innovative products of ACD Elektronik GmbH live at Automatica in Munich in hall B6 at booth 500.
Goodbye cable – the HMI concept of the future is wireless and functionally safe
In the meantime, AndroidTM has become the standard operating system for mobile handheld devices in the industrial sector as well. Other operating systems such as Windows® or Linux are hardly used anymore and can confidently be regarded as niche products. The large displays and touch operation concepts have revolutionized conventional applications. In the future, the trend for industrial HMI panels will also continue to move towards buttonless and wireless devices.
With ACD Elektronik’s mobile HMI devices, data is transmitted in a functionally secure manner via a radio link using the Black Channel method. Secure communication takes place between the mobile HMI panel and a gateway, the receiving device, which in turn is connected to a secure controller. After a simple RFID pairing of the two devices, the mobile HMI panel, including the emergency stop and enabling switches integrated in the device, is ready to use. Due to dual processor architecture, safety levels up to PLd and higher can be achieved. As usual with consumer products, ACD Elektronik offers two form factors for the mobile HMI panel: a 5 inch smartphone-sized device and a 10 inch tablet-sized device.
High safety standards
The base of the ACD HMI devices is an ACD hardware platform and the AndroidTM operating system adapted to it. This is known to be optimized for battery-powered touch applications and has clear advantages from Windows® and Linux. With the specially developed operating system ACD AndroidTM Industrial+, ACD Elektronik goes one step further. The operating system, for which the entire source code of the software is located on the servers of ACD Elektronik in Germany, has been specially developed for the requirements in industry and impresses with a high level of data security as well as regular updates, upgrades and security patches.
Modern usability and ergonomic design
ACD Elektronik has consistently designed the operation of its mobile HMI to the end. The absence of cables and buttons increases the manageability, apps and operating aids complete the product and lift it into a completely new league. The exchangeable battery, which can also be replaced during operation, has been taken over from our logistics devices. Of course, the devices have a camera and capacitive touch, as you would expect from the consumer world. Parameters are set with modernuser interface optimized apps. Must-haves for wireless mobile devices are of course the appropriate accessories like docking stations and additional apps for setting up and managing the devices. One of these is the range limitation function. Here, a distance or viewing range can be defined. If the user leaves this range, he is notified by an acoustic signal and vibration alarm. ACD Elektronik also offers other tools such as the ACD Mobile Device Manager (MDM) for managing all devices and the ACD KioskMode, which allows the administrator to restrict access to the device. An additional point that distinguishes ACD Elektronik’s HMI from devices from other manufacturers is the ergonomic design, which ensures that the HMI is always comfortable and trouble-free in hand.
Visit us in hall B6 at booth 500 at Automatica in Munich and see for yourself the mobile HMI of the future. The ACD Elektronik team is looking forward to meeting you!