There is no lack of guidelines or even standards when it comes to designing an industrial human-machine interface (HMI). Some organizations, such as ASM, have guidelines on how to improve operator efficiency using displays. International Society of Automation has an ISA 101 committee focusing solely on HMI design and publishes standards and other helpful content for designers.

Some of the recommended guidelines from ASM include

• Using colors and symbols
• Planning how the user interacts with the display
• Having on-line helps available
• Applying human-factor design methodology

However, there is a very large number of industrial devices that cannot be equipped with bright, high-resolution displays. The devices can be small in physical size, making it challenging to add large displays; the devices can be located far off from the operator, or the devices are running from a battery. For these and other situations, Bluetooth provides an excellent way to transform the user experience.

Using a widely adopted technology, like Bluetooth, the designers can design the HMI on smartphone or tablet screens and apply much greater design tactics than if they had to fit everything to a tiny pushbutton and seven-segment display. The operator can read the device or adjust the settings remotely, improving safety and convenience. When comparing to galvanically isolated serial interfaces, Bluetooth can provide notable savings in the bill of materials.

The Bluetooth Xpress family of products from Silicon Labs delivers the easiest integration of wireless technology for an industrial HMI. The pre-programmed and pre-certified modules require no previous Bluetooth skills. The accompanying mobile application framework simplifies mobile application development.

If you want to learn more about how Bluetooth can help you to deliver great human-machine interfaces, check out our whitepaper or get your project off the ground by ordering the Bluetooth Xpress starter kit.