2018 HMI Software and Hardware Study: Upward trends for HMIs

The 2018 HMI Software and Hardware study revealed several upward trends on the usage of human-machine interface software and hardware.

By Amanda Pelliccione, CFE Media March 5, 2018

Respondents to the Control Engineering 2018 HMI Software & Hardware study unveiled five key findings regarding what end users expect and how they purchase or specify human-machine interface (HMI) software and hardware:

  1. Usage of HMI software, hardware: HMI software or hardware is most regularly used for continuous manufacturing (27%), discrete and continuous manufacturing (20%), or discrete manufacturing purposes (18%).
  2. Justification: The top situations in which end users purchase new HMI software and/or hardware are an automation upgrade (64%), a new installation (47%), and an operations/engineering upgrade (33%).
  3. Annual spend: Over the past 12 months, the average respondent’s company was estimated to have spent $142,500 on HMI software and hardware (up 12% from the 2017 survey); an average of $141,900 is expected to be spent in the next year on these products.
  4. Operating systems: Microsoft Windows 7 (80%), Microsoft Windows 10 (57%), and Microsoft Windows Server (55%) are the most commonly used operating systems by respondents’ HMI software.
  5. Mobility: Fifty-one percent of respondents’ use a mobile industrial HMI device, 44% use industrial tablets or handheld equipment, and 35% recognize human factors or ergonometric considerations in regard to their HMI.

Access the full 2018 HMI Software & Hardware Report to view additional findings.