Gesture-Based Operator Interface for Process Plant Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional process control systems in chemical and petroleum processes rely on cumbersome I/O devices like keyboards and mice, which limit operators to adjusting one process entity at a time, are counterintuitive, and can be dangerous, especially when lacking haptic feedback.
Innovation Solution
A user interface device that allows gesture-based input, such as swipes, pinches, and taps, to control process plant entities, enabling operators to adjust multiple entities simultaneously and providing haptic feedback to prevent dangerous adjustments, while communicating directly with process controllers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional I/O devices like keyboards and mice are used, then the control system can operate process entities, but operators can only adjust one process entity at a time and the operation becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical I/O devices (keyboards, mice) with a touchscreen display that accepts gesture-based input. This substitution allows operators to directly manipulate graphical representations of process entities on the screen through intuitive gestures like pinching, spreading, and dragging, thereby enabling simultaneous adjustment of multiple process entities and eliminating the cumbersome one-at-a-time operation limitation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a graphical user interface dimension where process entities are represented as visual elements on a touchscreen display. Operators can interact with multiple entities simultaneously across the two-dimensional screen space using gestures, transforming the traditional one-dimensional sequential interaction into parallel multi-dimensional interaction
2Reliability
If traditional I/O devices are used without haptic feedback, then the control system operates, but the interface becomes counterintuitive and potentially dangerous
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates haptic feedback mechanisms that provide tactile responses to operator gestures on the touchscreen. When operators perform gestures to adjust process entities, the system delivers corresponding haptic feedback through the display, creating an intuitive cause-effect relationship that confirms the operation and prevents dangerous adjustments by making the interface responsive and predictable
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state parameters of the touchscreen display by incorporating haptic feedback capabilities. This allows the display to transition from a passive visual interface to an active tactile interface that can deliver force feedback, vibration, or resistance to guide operator actions and enhance safety through intuitive physical cues
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for adjusting process variables in a process plant using gesture-based input on a user interface device include presenting a graphic representation associated with a process plant entity in the process plant and an indication of a process variable value corresponding to the process plant entity as measured with the actual process plant and providing a user control for receiving gesture-based input at a location on the user interface device corresponding to the graphic representation associated with the process plant entity to adjust the process variable value. In response to receiving gesture-based input from an operator to adjust the process variable value for the corresponding process plant entity, the user interface device presents an adjusted process variable value and sets the process variable in the actual process plant to the adjusted process variable value.