justinireland.com http://justinireland.com Interactive Systems Specialist Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:59:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Real-Time Embedded User Interfaces Using HTML/CSS/js and Websockets http://justinireland.com/real-time-embedded-user-interfaces-using-html-css-js-and-websockets/ http://justinireland.com/real-time-embedded-user-interfaces-using-html-css-js-and-websockets/#comments Fri, 13 Aug 2010 01:22:02 +0000 Justin http://justinireland.com/?p=33 Modern appliances and electronic devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Advanced feature sets require advanced configuration options. Multi level menu systems offer more granular control to the users but at the cost of usability. Unfortunately, most user interfaces are not advanced enough to solve the usability issues and therefore the interface actually becomes the weak link.

Physical interfaces such as button panels or remote controls have many disadvantages. Panel controls require a dedicated display for feedback and physical access to a fixed location. IR remote controls offer only one-way communication with limited feedback and can become difficult to manage for multiple devices.

Many different 3rd party control systems are available to develop fully customizable user interfaces for controlling multiple types of devices. These control systems are essentially software development platforms which provide a very high level of customization and development options. However, the highly technical nature of these platforms makes it cost prohibitive to implement in many situations.

We propose a new type of solution to address these issues and bring simplified management and control to a broader market through embedded control interfaces.


Design Concept

An embedded control interface is a Graphical User Interface designed for a specific appliance, served from an embedded I/O controller connected directly to the appliance. See the illustration below.

The embedded I/O controller maintains a proprietary link with the appliance at all times and presents a virtual interface to multiple clients using HTTP. The GUI is built with standard web technologies designed to display within any compatible browser on any computing device. Building and embedding the GUI in this way has two distinct advantages:

  • Universal Access – By using web standards (HTML/CSS/javascript) and ensuring a high level of cross-browser compatibility we allow universal access from any device or operating system, regardless of manufacturer. The software does not have to be precompiled for a specific operating system. This allows us to maximize accessibility with minimal development costs.
  • Ease of Integration – Since the GUI is included with the appliance there is no need for customized development that would be necessary with a 3rd party control system.

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