HMI Software: 3 Ways to Attract Your Users

HMI software development has gained a lot of popularity in the press lately. It’s been used to create touch systems for vehicles, control the settings of their cars, and help humans interact with machines better.

So we’ll be giving a few tips on how to make your development team create an app that’s useful not only for your team, but for your users as well.

What’s the learning curve for hmi software development?

Because of the mainstream acceptance of popular accessories such as your tablet, smartwatch, or smartphone, the learning curve is low for most users. In fact, multi-touch functionality is natural for people today.

This means that you have to create hmi software that’s easy for your users to get used to. This means that it needs to have a readable interface, simple navigation, and features to help them utilize the system. Doing this will ensure that your users will be able to use your system and actually enjoy it.

Keep the HMI Simple

To create a high-quality HMI, show only what your user needs to know. Also, you should make the data useful. Make abnormal conditions obvious. Your colors need to be used sparingly, effectively, and consistently.

Another thing that you’ll want to simplify is the number of screens. Having too many screens will hamper your user’s control. So make sure your hmi software development team creates a system where the user doesn’t have to search through too many screens to solve a problem.

Create an Outline and Involve the Users Early

Start by outlining what your HMI system will control and monitor. From there, you need to develop your HMI outline with the objects and information to be shown on each screen for the HMI.

The HMI outline helps you make sure you and your development team are heading the right path. Use the outline to accomplish everything needed for the HMI’s functionality. With your outline established, ask your users if they need any information to complete their tasks and what pieces are missing.

Use High-Performance Graphics

You should plan on using high-performance graphics techniques for your HMI. Currently, the industry removing themselves from the previous trend of HMI screens with fancy graphics. Use high-performance graphics to increase your user’s awareness.

While some will use high-performance graphics to show every detail, this is a huge mistake. You should use high-performance graphics for simplification so that your users can easily use your software.

Having an abundance of data is great, but you need to use it discriminatorily. Your main goal is to make the process easier for the user, not confuse them. Find the purpose of your HMI software. Having overly detailed or fancy graphics can turn to clutter, making it harder for your user to find the right data.

Conclusion

To conclude, hmi software development relies on two things: simplicity and accuracy. You don’t want to create software that’s too hard for your user to understand, nor do you want software that isn’t useful for them.

Because of this, make sure that your development team knows how to make a user friendly hmi application. This will ensure that your project is well read by your audience and increase their acceptance and appreciation for your developments?

Do you have any additional questions on hmi software?

Tell us in the comments below.

Sources:

  1. http://huffmaneng.com/5-tips-hmi-development/
  2. http://www.machinedesign.com/iot/what-are-human-machine-interfaces-and-why-are-they-becoming-more-important
  3. http://www.anaheimautomation.com/manuals/forms/hmi-guide.php