Hardly any area in the field of industrial automation has undergone such dynamic development over recent decades as human-machine interfaces (HMI) and higher-level SCADA systems. What began with simple control panels in the 1980s has now grown into a highly integrated software landscape connecting machinery, plants and in some cases even whole factories together. The journey to this point was marked by technological progress, a growing flood of data and a fundamental change in the understanding of machine operation.
Companies such as INOSOFT have shaped this development to a considerable extent and evolved HMI software from what was purely a display tool into a strategic platform.
The Early Years: Mechanical Systems and “Conventional” Electrical Technology
Machine operation in the 1980s was still far removed from today’s level of flexibility. Switches, pushbuttons, signal lights and pointer instruments were the only interface between humans and the machine. There was hardly any process information. Operating convenience was practically irrelevant. Troubleshooting on the machine required in-depth knowledge of the mechanical and electrical systems – wrenches and Duspol voltmeters were the most important items here.
The arrival of the personal computer in industry opened up a new chapter: This made the graphic visualization of the processes in the machine possible for the first time. The first HMI systems were developed, often in the form of proprietary solutions, which displayed machine states on monochrome screens.
The Advance of PC HMIs and The Birth of VisiWin
The late 1980s saw the beginning of the software era in automation. In 1990, INOSOFT’s first HMI software VisiPro was launched, followed by VisiWin in the mid-1990s – the company’s first Windows-based product.
Thanks to the special concept – the integration of the tool in the Visual Basic Version 3 programming environment from Microsoft – the software enabled far more than merely operation and monitoring even back then. By implementing user-defined logic, for example for the integration of databases, it was possible to provide the machine with data or to log data from production. As a consequence, the HMI developed into a critical assistance system for the operator and took over more and more tasks from the field of the SCADA systems.
Many functions which the PLCs of the time were unable to perform were therefore implemented on the PC with the assistance of VisiWin. Success confirmed that INOSOFT was on the right track with its conscious decision to embrace openness and integration capability. These principles continue to underpin the DNA of the company to this day.
Networking and Data Intelligence: The Turn of the Millennium
With increasing digitalization came increasing requirements in terms of scalability and data transparency. Client-server architectures make it possible to interconnect multiple operating terminals and control complex machines on a decentralized basis. INOSOFT launched VisiWinStudio on the market, a product which met these increasing requirements. A runtime system developed completely from square one was created on the basis of experience gathered over previous years. Modern architecture and pioneering functionality were to serve INOSOFT’s customers well for many years to come. Now highly refined, the technology base of Visual Basic made it possible to achieve results which were virtually impossible with conventional solutions.
“Flashback to the turn of the millennium: The 1999/2000 New Year’s Eve celebrations took place at INOSOFT GmbH’s bistro in Hiddenhausen. In the event of an emergency, many key individuals would have been on site. But the telephone remained silent. All the applications remained unfazed by the great moment and continued running undeterred,” reports Stefan Niermann, Head of Business Development, who has been with the firm for over 30 years.
At the start of the 2000s, VisiWinNET first saw the light of day. Visual Basic was dead. Long live .NET! This was the start of a new epoch. A whole host of new developments had become possible. These included VisiWinNET Smart as well – a proprietary engineering system from INOSOFT. A development which was pursued even more rigorously in VisiWin 7 with the cooperative engineering concept.
Design, Usability and Efficiency
With the advances in hardware and high-performance frameworks such as WPF, HMI software became increasingly sophisticated in visual terms from around 2010 onwards. Animations, transparent layouts and multi-touch monitors took hold. More important than pure optics, however, was a new focus: UX and UI design – the user experience took center stage. INOSOFT was quick to pick up on this trend with VisiWin 7. The software made high quality, intuitive graphical user interfaces possible on the basis of the consistent implementation of style guides developed by UX specialists. The HMI grew out of its infancy with a stylish design and became an attractive sales pitch.
Sven Kröger, Head of Product Development at INOSOFT: “VisiWin made it possible both then and now to produce custom HMI interfaces which meet the highest standards in terms of design and usability. Thanks to consistent openness, there are no limits when it comes to design.”
There were major innovations in the efficiency of engineering: Modularization and cooperative engineering were critical approaches which led to a reduction in the amount of development work involved and an increase in reusability. The modular concept of VisiWin made it possible to put together HMIs from reusable components which were developed as self-contained plug-ins, versioned and used across separate projects. The various specialists worked with the tool of their choice – software developers, for example, with Visual Studio – automation engineers with VisiWin IDE, where they had access to the ready-made elements provided by the developers.
Cross-Platform, IoT and Industry 4.0: The Present
HMI and SCADA systems are now an integral component of networked production. The boundaries between HMI, SCADA, IoT and MES are becoming increasingly blurred. Modern systems must be able to work on a cross-platform basis – on Windows, Linux, embedded systems or mobile terminals.
With VisiWin Cross-Platform, INOSOFT has fulfilled this requirement: Applications run flexibly in containers on edge devices or in cloud environments. Standardized protocols such as OPC UA and MQTT provide secure communication in open Industry 4.0 architectures.
Issues such as cybersecurity are becoming more of a focus due to the high level of networking – an HMI has long ceased to be merely a user interface, but part of a comprehensive automation strategy instead.
Technologies of the Future: AI, AR and Edge Computing
The next stage in evolution is already in sight. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will provide operators with active support – through intelligent suggestions, pattern recognition or automatic parameter optimization. Augmented Reality (AR) adds new dimensions to operation: Information about machine states or process values can be displayed directly in the real environment.
Edge computing enables data to be processed where it is created – with minimum latency and maximum data security. In combination with cloud connections and decentralized architectures, this results in an HMI ecosystem which is flexible, secure and scalable.
“Our mission is to do more than just accompany developments, but to actively drive them forward as well. The future of automation will be dominated by flexibility, openness and design quality – and that is absolutely our approach,” emphasizes Jens Klocke, Managing Partner, who joined INOSOFT just a few years after it was founded.
Summary: 40 Years of Change – and a Look Ahead
From the first signal lights to modern, networked cross-platform systems, there has been a radical change in interaction between humans and the machine. The user interface has long since become a decisive factor when it comes to efficiency, safety and security, and productivity. INOSOFT’s development with the VisiWin product family mirrors this change perfectly: From Windows pioneer to modular platforms and cross-platform, IoT-capable systems with AI and AR potential.
The trend is clear: Open, data-driven and user-oriented HMI solutions provide the basis for future-proof automation. With VisiWin Cross-Platform, INOSOFT has created the foundations that already meet this requirement today – and has paved the way for the next generation of machine operation.
At the same time, INOSOFT continues to remain closely focused on its customers' requirements with its developments, as in the past, and also provides them with training courses and services ranging from collaboration to turn-key applications.