CONTROL & AUTOMATION
EMPOWERING WORKERS
PRODUCTS4 AUTOMATION
NEXT AR APP HEADS UP OPERATORS IN HUMAN-
MACHINE INTERACTION ON THE PLANT FLOOR
Progea has developed an augmented reality
(AR) app that incorporates Human Machine
Interfaces (HMIs) onto Smart Glasses. By
superimposing digital information onto
physical objects, the AR HMIs empower
factory workers to interact with machines
and manufacturing processes virtually. The
app, NExT AR, uses the SCADA/HMI platform
Movicon.NExT, so it provides genuine
feedback and control while seamlessly
integrating with other management systems
and software layers.
AR offers a unique opportunity to enrich
our working environment, by providing an
interactive platform that displays relevant
virtual information and aligns real and
digital objects with each other in real-time.
When AR is associated with head-up-
displays (HUDs), its potential skyrockets, as
it enables hands-free interaction with the
surrounding mixed-reality environment.
An area where AR HUD has massive
potential is the factory floor. By eliminating
the physical separation between machines
and their automation data, this technology
can help factories to improve industrial
processes and product quality whilst
minimising errors, downtime and costs.
For example, an operator in the field could
perform maintenance activities faster, while
watching instructions on how to perform
each task correctly. Similarly, it would be
possible to turn valves while monitoring
the values of the flow downstream change
in real-time, making carefully judged
adjustments.
THE FUNCTIONALITIES OF A
HIGH-QUALITY SCADA ON HUD
The NExT AR app was created to allow
plant operators to follow key performance
indicators (KPIs), receive alerts and
notifications as well as interact with critical
plant processes in real-time from anywhere
across the factory floor. More precisely, the
app connects wearables to the factory’s
SCADA (supervisory control and data
acquisition) system, thus creating a self-
contained, hands-free and ergonomic HMI
(human-machine interface). In this way,
operators can access any dashboards, alerts,
pages, screens, real-time and historical data
stored within the SCADA system.
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PECM Issue 37