Automation Panel 1500: Intelligent HMI
Technology With Personality
Operator panels have long since evolved beyond simply displaying machine statuses. They identify users, support safety concepts, guide operators intuitively through complex processes, and are increasingly becoming the face of a machine. With the Automation Panel 1500, B&R is consistently advancing their offering in the area of human-machine interfaces. What sets the new Automation Panel apart: technologies such as camera, RFID or intelligent user guidance are combined for the first time with a customization concept that works without customer-specific device variants.
Intelligence Starts at the Panel
The first point of contact with a machine is almost always the operator panel. And that’s exactly where expectations are rising today. User interfaces are expected to be as intuitive as smartphones or tablets while also meeting the high demands of industrial applications.
The Automation Panel 1500 integrates functions that previously often required additional hardware. An optional camera enables applications such as barcode scanning, facial recognition, and presence detection. Combined with an RFID reader, it can even enable two-factor authentication – an important element of modern cybersecurity concepts. An integrated LED strip displays the machine's status from a distance. A quick glance at the panel is enough for a fast status check. Individually labeled function keys provide direct access to frequently used machine functions and make user guidance easier.
Hardware alone, however, is only part of the solution. It is the interplay with visualization software that creates a seamless user experience, guiding operators safely, intuitively, and systematically through machine functions. Clear user guidance, multi-touch operation, and context-based direct access ensure that even complex systems can be operated efficiently and with minimal training effort.
Customization Without Extra Effort
There is another idea that is at least as compelling: Machine builders want to give their systems a distinctive appearance but shy away from the effort involved in custom one-off solutions, such as separate material numbers, minimum order quantities or additional logistics.
The Automation Panel 1500 takes a different approach. Customer logos, product names and function key labels are applied by laser directly during series production. This creates a customized operator panel without additional material numbers, initial costs, or complex special solutions. At the same time, integration effort is reduced because additional components and individual variants are eliminated. This simplifies design, logistics, and subsequent maintenance alike.
The real intelligence happens in software. Our job is to provide the hardware foundation for it – and to make customization so easy that it becomes standard.
Built to Last
Customization, however, does not end at the front panel. Technically, too, the Automation Panel remains consistently modular. Depending on the application, it can operate as a monitor panel or become a fully-fledged panel PC by adding a PC module on the rear. If a later switch to a new processor generation or a current operating system is needed, the panel itself remains in place – only the computing unit is replaced. This reduces maintenance costs, extends the machine’s lifecycle, and simplifies future technology upgrades.
With its modular platform strategy, B&R builds on decades of experience in industrial HMI systems. Industrial-grade quality, brilliant displays with wide viewing angles, multi-touch operation and long-term compatibility ensure that the Automation Panel 1500 is designed for current and future generations of machines. The real innovation, therefore, lies less in a single feature than in the combination of intelligent technology, easy customization, and long-term investment security. The result is a human-machine interface that adapts to today’s needs while anticipating future developments from the outset.
Fact Box: Automation Panel 1500
| Intelligent operation | optional camera for barcode scanning, facial recognition and presence detection |
|---|---|
| Cybersecurity | optional RFID reader for user and two-factor authentication |
| Quick overview | energy-efficient status indication with LED strip |
| Intuitive user guidance | individually labeled function keys for frequently used machine functions |
| Easy Customizing | customer logo, product name and key labels applied by laser directly during series production |
| Modular platform | scalable from monitor panel to high-performance panel PC |
| Long-term investment security | PC unit can be replaced while the panel remains in place |
| Industrial-grade quality | rugged construction, multi-touch screen for gesture-based operation and high compatibility across multiple product generations |