Press Release

Touch Panels Now Available for Embedded Controllers

In the PLC-based machine control community, touch panels and operator interfaces are a part of almost every machine design because of the functionality and visualization needs of industrial machine operators. The programming for these interfaces has evolved to the point where maintenance technicians are able to program and edit operator interfaces with ease.

At the same time, as embedded controllers become increasingly more cost effective and easier to implement, industrial OEMs have more frequently considered them for machine control. Many companies now make board-level platforms, and that makes it immensely easier to use them in place of PLCs. Many embedded controllers today use high-level programming languages such as C/C++ for controls programming.

But there was still the issue of building the graphical user interface (GUI). Machine builders often viewed operator interfaces for embedded control systems as tedious to implement, mainly because of the C/C++ type coding required to generate the GUIs. Unlike operator interfaces for PLCs where even maintenance technicians could create GUIs in minutes, GUI for embedded controllers required hardcore code even for objects as simple as indicator lights or an on/off switch. Such GUIs can demand 3-4 months of development time—even more if an end user wanted to change it.

That’s changing. AVG is one company that’s convinced operator interface for this growing embedded controller interest can and should benefit machine builders. The company introduced E-ZView touch panels, which it hopes will ignite interest in the use of touch panel operator interfaces in the embedded world. “GUIs that took three or four months to develop are now programmable in 15 minutes,” says Usman Khalid, AVG product marketing manager. “An operator interface that needed a software engineer to develop now is customizable by a marketing/graphics designer, and touch panels that required C/C++ type code even for objects such as on/off-type buttons now are programmable from pre-built components.” He says GUIs that required endless trial and error in the code to make things “look right” now are developed in a what you see is what you get (WYSWIG) environment, and operator interfaces that had to be connected and disconnected every time a new revision was made through its existing code are now programmed online with an application running on an embedded controller.

“The seamless integration of E-ZView with embedded controllers from companies such as Z-World, Tern and Atmel AVR is the result of AVG developing the necessary communication protocols once and for all,” says Khalid. “A programmer with an existing or new embedded controller can now implement a GUI/operator interface in just three easy steps.”

Khalid says there’s not much more to it than connecting E-ZView to the existing/new embedded controller via a serial RS-232 cable, calling an InitPanel function that declares registers to be accessible by E-ZView and calling an UpdatePanel function to pass revised data to E-ZView panel in a control loop in the high-level programming language for the embedded controller. InitPanel and UpdatePanel functions are available in a C/C++ type environment by using E-ZView’s PanelDrv.lib library. Finally, says Khalid, use E-ZView development software to develop a GUI using the registers made accessible by the InitPanel function

“An embedded control programmer trying to implement a GUI would have to buy LCD display, bezel, touchscreen, cables, and software separately and also go through the tedious task of integrating hardware and software,” states Khalid. “Now it’s easier then ever to get started--E-ZView can be ordered as a development kit for an embedded controller, which will get you started right out of the box in minutes.”

E-ZView starts at $449 in quantities of 200 units, and comes in a complete package including LCD Display, touchscreen, bezel, communications cable to an embedded controller, programming cable for E-ZView panel, and free software, which is a complete development copy with no timed key, no registration, and no licensing costs associated. “This allows OEMs and users to get a feel for the software and programming environment even before they buy E-ZView for their embedded controllers,” concludes Khalid.