Challenge
Our client, a leader in energy solutions for large-scale industrial applications, had an outdated HMI interface that was difficult to maintain and lacked essential features. The interface couldn't easily integrate with REST APIs, lacked visual tools for managing servers and switches, and offered no straightforward upgrade path. They needed us to modernize their system, ensuring seamless integration, enhanced visual management and user integration, and future-proof flexibility.
Solution
Our solution involved designing a modern, touch-enabled HMI interface that seamlessly integrates with the client’s embedded sensor systems. We chose Raspberry Pi as the platform, deploying a custom Linux distribution tailored through the Yocto project—a key technology for our client’s proprietary solutions. To ensure full compatibility, we integrated Yocto with the client’s CentOS-based operating system, enabling smooth communication between the HMI, the client’s hardware, and their databases. In addition to developing the interface, we established a cross-compilation pipeline to facilitate ongoing software maintenance and future upgrades by the client. The new HMI interface offers intuitive visualizations of data from current and voltage sensors, detailed information on circuit breaker statuses and energy source parameters, and supports custom alert creation and real-time monitoring of the power supply. The project also provided a local version of the interface, with the capability to stream over the internet for remote access, giving the client greater flexibility and control over their systems.
Results
The newly developed HMI significantly enhanced interface performance, delivering a faster and more responsive user experience. Navigation became more intuitive, with a streamlined layout that prominently features key options as visible tiles on the main screen. The codebase was organized to ensure ease of maintenance, reducing future complexities and enabling quicker updates. As a result, the client now benefits from a more efficient, user-friendly interface that not only improves operational efficiency but also simplifies ongoing system management.
Client Feedback
The newly developed HMI significantly enhanced interface performance, delivering a faster and more responsive user experience. Navigation became more intuitive, with a streamlined layout that prominently features key options as visible tiles on the main screen.