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Ignition Perspective® Module
Human-machine interface (HMI) vendors have been promising a utopia based around web-based technologies for over two decades. The prospect of simply providing a web address to anyone within an organization that leads to a fast-loading, full-power supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system has been on most factories’ wish list for a long time. After all, internet page tools and functionality have far outpaced advancements in SCADA software over the same time. The advancements seem to leap forward every time someone reloads a page, with new widgets and tools available almost daily. When coupled with hardware developments like high contrast screens; enhanced touchscreen operations; and capabilities like Bluetooth, accelerometers, geolocation, and more; a flexible, web-based option has been coveted.
What many casual users fail to understand about HMI solutions is exactly how tightly the software is connected to the factory floor controllers. This connection via high-security networks, VPNs, and masks, can be tricky to navigate, particularly when the architecture is intentionally complex to provide security for the systems. Further, most people don’t realize the architectural complexity of software that link to sometimes multiple databases and remote data sources, where gigabits of proprietary information streams into and out of the SCADA application. It has been the responsibility of the integrators of these solutions to protect would-be users from themselves in a lot of applications. Poorly developed programs could create vulnerabilities to the operation of equipment, expose floor workers to potential risk, and possibly allow trade secrets to escape into cyberspace.
Clients of ours at ECS Solutions (ECS) have seen these web tools and frequently request that we consider or even deploy them on their behalf. As such, it is our responsibility to stay abreast of these technologies so that we can make informed decisions, balancing risk and reward when building a solution. The question is raised again: are web-based SCADA solutions truly ready for all the rigors of the industrial world? With the introduction of Ignition’s Perspective module, we believe that the answer is “YES”. The product is stable, modular, and extendable. The product runs on every major browser and OS and couples seamlessly with Ignition modules that round out industrial applications such as reporting and alarming. Security is handled via standard but robust web tools, offering many ways to control and limit access including options for SSL and two-factor authentication.
Perspective is not Ignition’s first offering of a web-based solution but it is the first that offers access to all of the web-functionality tools that developers may want while also providing a link to legacy solutions. Inductive Automation has taken great pains to make this palatable to legacy programmers. For example, a web-based solution can be achieved without having to be a full Python, HTML, or Java programmer by using the Perspective Workspace but there are also ways to access those tools if they’re needed. The tools have finally reached a level of maturity that provide the end cosmetic and functional results without the need to write highly elaborate, web-specific code.
ECS has been delivering Perspective solutions to clients for years now. Our initial deployments were based largely upon information technology (IT)-centric applications like OEE and downtime tracking. These were more dashboard solutions than hardcore control, but they allowed our team to really test the development environment as well as the end-user functionality. Once those proved successful, we expanded our offering to more IT-based solutions that have led to some very interesting applications that would have been quite a bit more complex if deployed in a traditional SCADA environment. A recent solution incorporated card scan readers, thermal cameras, and physical control of door actuators to control access based on permissions already defined in a security authentication system. These were combined with the thermal scanners to provide a comprehensive way of controlling who could enter the plant or areas considering both their credentials and the results of a real-time infectious disease query, all with little interaction from the user.
We’re now examining cases for full industrial control using Perspective. It isn’t the solution for every application but it certainly has its place on the plant floor. If a client needs an expansion on an existing Ignition Vision-based solution, if they need access to a machine’s deep files or resources, or their overall corporate appetite for web-based solutions isn’t high then we continue to defer to a full Vision solution. If a client wants an entire new application, wants to be able to access the software remotely on a regular basis, or wants to consolidate other non-factory floor applications onto what is potentially an intermittently used SCADA machine then Perspective is a great fit.
The ECS team continues to develop our abilities in Perspective. Working closely with Inductive Automation, our team members routinely achieve Core certification which exposes them to both legacy, full SCADA in the form of Vision as well as the web-based Perspective solution. Thus, our skills will continue to mature in parallel to both offerings and we can make the best decisions with respect to our client’s long-term needs. The Vision product is part of Inductive Automation’s portfolio for a long time to come and so our analysis can remain focused on what is best for a specific client and solution. If a web solution is the best solution then we can deliver that as well.
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