Qt capabilities for HMI development

Human-machine interfaces (HMI) are used to interact between people and machines. Using the HMI, the operator in real-time controls and corrects the production process based on the received data on the state of the system.

The new features of modern HMI software open up new areas of application to improve the efficiency of equipment and processes.

?HMIs can be more than just local interfaces. Web technologies enable professionals to get information using a browser. HMIs have access to archives, high-level reporting and analytics tools, and information portals.

The advantage of modern HMIs is that they function safely and reliably both in normal conditions and emergencies, and empower operators to control and make decisions.

?HMIs for industrial use are screen displays, touch screens, multi-touch control panels, buttons, mobile devices, or tablets that connect users to devices and systems. Whatever forms they have, the main task of all human-machine interfaces is to provide effective communication between the operator and the machine.

?HMIs have become part of everyday life in the form of touch screens in cars, smart home displays, microwave ovens, and other home appliances.

When you come into a bank, government office, fast food restaurant, or airport, you will probably see some form of HMI.

HMIs can not only send and receive large amounts of information from peripherals but also become an effective tool for machine learning in the future. A modern HMI can identify elements, events, or information that do not match the expected pattern.

As the HMIs themselves and their connections with each other and with other systems and devices become more complex, the process of their development becomes more complicated. It includes software and hardware parts, along with building the appropriate infrastructure. At the same time, the focus, as before, is on the visibility of information for the user, and also the ability of a device to instantly display information and receive a response from the system.

All these requirements must be taken into account when designing modern HMIs.

Cross-platform GUI frameworks allow programmers to develop software for embedded HMI devices of any scale and complexity.

Cross-platform GUI toolkits

Many cross-platform frameworks and platforms such as Flutter, .Net, Xamarin, GTK, JUCE are applied to building software for human-machine interfaces. Certain industries, such as automotive, have narrowly targeted tools for HMI development.

Kanzi has several interesting software solutions for creating user interfaces for dashboards, head-up displays, and infotainment systems. Kanzi Studio offers technologies such as seamless 2D and 3D compositions, code-free visual editing, rich animation and cinematic effects, and many other in-demand products and services.

SIMATIC HMI software products from Siemens are designed to create flexible and efficient HMIs. SIMATIC WinCC offers Basic, Comfort, and Advanced software packages for interfaces of varying complexity. Siemens customers have the opportunity to receive large and complex SCADA solutions and process visualization software.

Qt is one of the best solutions for creating rich multi-platform user interfaces. Qt is popular with developers due to its flexibility, simplicity of use, and its extensive C++/QML libraries.

Here are Qt benefits for HMI software development:

• Qt has different licensing options to suit the needs of different users.?
• Qt is well-known for its cross-platform abilities - it supports various desktop, mobile, and embedded platforms.
• With Qt's assistance, prototypes can be easily built.
• A big community of active Qt developers can help in getting answers to possible questions regarding the framework. The Qt Company offers a vast database with guides, research, case studies, and tutorials.?
• The Qt company pays attention to feedback from developers, improving the accessibility of the framework and making it more convenient.?
• Qt Quick has great capabilities in UI design. This library gives the opportunity to create, try, and modify GUIs using the QML language.?
• The ability to create a software product in a short time and immediately test it on a hardware platform gives designers an advantage in the speed of bringing the final product version to production.

The cross-platform Qt framework is widely used for developing automotive HMI solutions. Qt developers use a single, unified codebase for any screen size, operating system, or hardware architecture.

One of the areas of Qt's application is the automotive in-vehicle infotainment system.

Qt offers the Automotive Suite of software components and tools. This system enables specialists to create in-flight infotainment (IVI) systems. The Automotive Suite consists of several components based on Qt and Qt Creator. Qt also provides the Qt GENIVI Extras module, which is responsible for the compatibility of a product created with the Qt Automotive Suite with the GENIVI automotive platform architecture.

Well-known automotive companies Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Citroen, DS, Opel, and Peugeot use Qt Framework when creating HMI for their cars

Integra Sources is a Qt development company, and our portfolio includes many successful projects using the Qt framework for solving a variety of tasks, including HMI. Our large Battery Management System (BMS) project was also built with Qt applied to the HMI part.

Our challenge was to create firmware for the BMS and software for communication with it.

The HMI task was to develop a full-screen touch panel application to display the status of the BMS.

Also, to test the finished BMS module, the developers needed to implement another application for the touch screen.

Our Qt developers have used the C++/Qt/Qml stack to create HMI applications. By taking advantage of the framework's opportunities, applications with a customized interface approved by the customer have been created.

Our team looks forward to the development of expertise with new interesting projects using Qt in the very near future. Check out more about Qt for HMI development from our blog page.