HMI: The evolution of the human–machine

The evolution of the Human–Machine Interface (HMI) has accelerated significantly in recent years, driven by the development and widespread adoption of mobile devices, particularly smartphones. Touch technologies are certainly the most common HMI application, but additional key technologies have since emerged, such as conversational interfaces—i.e., voice-based interactions with devices—and Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) systems.

The rapid growth of HMI technologies has deeply influenced interface design across both consumer and industrial sectors. To ensure smooth and effective usability, HMI-based devices require hardware components—such as boards and processors—with sufficient computational performance to guarantee optimal device functionality. End users, whether consumers using a smartphone or operators managing industrial machinery, expect products and services to be fast, intuitive, simple, and almost “natural” to interact with.

HMI in the Industrial Sector

In the industrial domain, HMI systems today focus primarily on touch technologies and can be applied to various needs: from a simple operator panel used to control a machine to more complex systems that manage an entire production line. Due to their reliability in processing information and data, HMIs have become essential tools in corporate decision-making processes.

Industrial sectors that have most successfully integrated advanced HMI solutions include the automotive industry, pharmaceuticals, transportation, and the energy and water sectors. In industrial automation, HMI systems also play a crucial role. Consider, for example, a pharmaceutical production line where the operator cannot be physically present to avoid contamination or biological hazards. Through an HMI, the machinery can be remotely controlled—and more importantly, monitored—without the operator being physically on-site.

As with all technologies, the key strengths of an HMI must be usability, flexibility, speed, and security. A Human–Machine Interface must be easy to use, adaptable when required, responsive in executing commands, and secure.

HMI: From Touch to the Mind

Technological evolution in HMI is not limited to touch-based interaction. From the “Hands & Touch” era—where commands moved from mechanical buttons to fingertip gestures—we are transitioning toward the “Mind & Body” era, in which the human body becomes the interface and the mind drives the interaction. This shift will require more immersive and intelligent interfaces.

One of the major advantages of a more immersive interface is the ability to deliver a highly engaging, personalized, emotional, and interactive experience, where the user becomes an active participant in the product or service environment. According to Ray Kurzweil, Director of Engineering at Google, the future of HMI will bring a digital extension of our minds into virtual environments. Other futuristic scenarios envision virtual thought-to-thought communication between humans and seamless exchange of information and commands between humans and machines.