HMI Software & Solutions for Industrial Automation

Traditional HMIs often overwhelm operators and fail to adapt as operations change. They present too much information at once, increasing cognitive load, training needs, and operator stress.

Many legacy HMIs also lack flexibility, with limited support for older systems, new hardware, or modern architectures. As a result, they can become obsolete quickly and drive higher long term costs.

HMI software is the graphical interface operators use to monitor and control machines, production lines, and industrial processes. It connects to automation systems, controllers, and data sources, then presents status, alarms, trends, and controls in a form people can understand quickly.

HMI software communicates with controllers, PLCs, historians, and industrial data sources through drivers, OPC, and other supported protocols. It collects live values, displays them as graphics, trends, alarms, and dashboards, and allows authorized users to issue commands back to equipment. In AVEVA environments, HMI can also connect with SCADA, historian, reporting, and cloud services to support broader operations visibility.

HMI stands for Human Machine Interface. Generally, it refers to a screen or dashboard that communicates information, data and metrics using graphics or visual representations of numbers. The screen is controlled by an operator who monitors and controls equipment and processes in factories and plants.

In simple terms, the Human Machine Interface, commonly known as HMI, is the means by which humans engage with machines to monitor, control and/or carry out processes. Simple examples of Human Machine Interfaces are keyboards and touchscreens. These high-tech tools enable the controller to access and utilise computer programmes. Complex examples are found in factories and plants, where Human Machine Interfaces are integral to production and manufacturing processes. They have innumerable uses, but in essence HMIs enable operators to make sure processes run smoothly, identify problems, and maintain and improve efficiencies.

SCADA software, which stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, is an example of a system where HMI is essential. SCADA generally refers to a centralised control system for a network of processes and devices. In order for SCADA systems to function effectively, they rely on HMI. For example, in water treatment systems various phases take place in different locations using a wide range of plants and equipment. HMI enables operators to monitor and control these disparate parts of the process remotely through one control point. Find out more about SCADA.

HMIs are typically equipment/machine or work cell focused. Their perspective is limited in scope to the immediate area. Whereas SCADA typically takes a wider view of operations. This can include many pieces of equipment, entire plants and processes, or multiple work cells.

Some HMI designated software can be used as a light SCADA, though not all, and most SCADA can be used as HMI.

Common HMI types include touchscreen panels, industrial workstations, web-based HMIs, mobile interfaces, embedded machine HMIs, and supervisory operator stations. Industrial users may also deploy thin clients, remote desktop sessions, and browser-based views for secure access. The right approach depends on scale, resiliency, operator workflow, connectivity requirements, and whether the system must support standalone machines, plant-wide operations, or multi-site visibility.

HMI is used by factory operators, engineers, technicians, medical staff, drivers, pilots, and any person who uses a phone, tablet, or smart home device. It helps users control industrial machines, monitor entire systems, manage personal devices, and generally interact with technology safely and efficiently.