Factory Overview
Ambient real-time feedback about the entire industry process on a large, multitouch display provides its users with a big picture view of the status of the entire factory
In this project, we designed and implemented a fully functional large, multitouch screen interface that interface with several existing industrial computer systems (such as SAP, ProTAK, WinMOPS, and other) and incorporate it in a seamless, fluid 3D zoomable interface. The system provides real-time feedback about the factory's entire process on a single monitor using a slick, easy-to-use, and quick and responsive interface. The project is the result of a long series of creative workshops with employees at SCA Packaging and ABB Corporate Research.
The system provides two modes of operation: first, an 'ambient mode' in which a 3D representation of the factory provides a quick and easy-to-grasp overview of the status of the factory as a whole, i.e. a dynamic source of information about the status of the process throughout the day that subtly informs everyone related to the process—from operators and service technicians to administration and management—about the overall ‘health’ of their process industry in real time.
Second, the system also allows users to step up to it and interact with it, using multitouch interaction. Here, the user is able to zoom into the factory's 27 different departments to view more specific information about what is going on in there.
At the core of the design is a 3D model of the paper mill facility. By means of tapping into the company’s production management system, status information about the process is presented in the rectangular areas connected to the various departments of the facility. Also, at the lower end of the display, the key values mentioned above are presented.
The interactive 3D-model is primarily not a model of the facility, but rather an information display about the facility. It is designed to resemble the facility to such an extent that it allows for expressing the spatial logics of the process. We have not opted for a photorealistic representation, but rather aimed for a level of realism that speaks to the ability on part of the employees to recognize different parts of the facility and the role they play in the overall milling process. Apart from the overview of the factory, users are able to zoom into any of the 27 departments to get a more detailed view of that specific department.
The prototype system has been commercialized by ABB. See Martin from ABB demo our prototype as well as a video of their product here.
About
This project was carried out at Interactive Institute Swedish ICT with SCA Packaging AB and our client ABB Corporate Research.
Design Team
Daniel Fallman
Ru Zarin
Björn Yttergren
Kent Lindbergh
Fredrik Nilbrink