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HMI design & Mobile App development for Industrial Drive Controller Application

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  • February 13, 2017
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HMI design & Mobile App development for Industrial Drive Controller Application

Tags :

Category : Automation , Mobility , Product Engineering

 

Customer:

One of the world’s most renowned suppliers of industrial drives and gearboxes for motion control, power transmission, rack & pinion applications and servo motors. For more than 8 decades, our customer has been a trusted supplier of quality and efficient Industrial Automation solutions

 

Business Challenge:

  • A PC-based application was being used by the end-users to control industrial drives of the motors connected to the machines, on the shop-floor.
  • However our customer’s internal technology R&D team had concerns w.r.t to their existing features and HMI of the PC-based Industrial Automation application.
  • This PC application was being used by their customers to control industrial drives of the motors connected to the machines on the shop-floor.
  • Operator-centric HMI design and Web or Mobile based solutions are very critical since manual operation of the industrial drives can lead to fatal physical  injuries on the shop floor or assembly line
  • For the existing product line of the industrial drives, the customer had a legacy web-based PC application along with physical controls on the drives and gearboxes.
  • This legacy industrial automation application had a number of limitations:
    • Existing HMI design & industrial automation solution supported limited controls and hence operators were also required to use the physical controls of the drive. This increased the possibility of shop-floor accidents
    • The legacy industrial automation app did not provide effective illustration and visual feedback of the actual working environment and condition of the deployed motors.

 

Embitel Solution:

Industrial Drive Controller Application
HMT-Design

 

  • Our Industrial Automation and Mobility team partnered with the customer for technology workshops to understand the existing processes and pain points.
  • Automation and Mobility team proposed and developed a Mobile App with an operator-centric HMI design, remote monitoring and custom control features.
  • This Industrial Automation Mobile Solution not only provides feedback from the drive controller, but also is used to relay control commands to the drive controllers to adjust position of the motor axes, speed, torque and more.
  • The Mobile App solution for Industrial Drives ensured safer proximity to the actual drives and motors as compared to the legacy PC-application where there is no visual feedback.
  • To overcome the drawbacks of the PC-application that required LAN connection with the industrial drives, mobile app helped operators to connect with drives and motors through highly secured Wi-Fi connection or unique QR codes.
  • Operators can easily identify the industrial drive controllers connected to the Wi-Fi network and control any specific motor at permissible distance from the machine shops.
  • Industrial Drive Mobile Application ensures that operators receive real time feedback from the deployed motors.
  • Our Automation and Mobility developers have designed a highly secure, proprietary and industrial grade communication protocol to enable data exchange between the mobile app and industrial drive controllers.
  • This solution has been designed for mobile operating systems like Android, iOS and Windows.
  • All operator authenticity and validity checks for changing any parameter of the motors have been integrated.
  • All the issues/events are notified to the operator through the mobile application as per the defined priorities shared by the customer.

 

Embitel Impact:

  • This mobile app solution for Industrial Drive application ensures that all motor-related status are visible to the operator in real time, and hence chances of any unintended faulty handling and accidents are eliminated.

 

Tools and Technologies:

  • Software development Languages :Java, swift, Objective C ,CSS, HTML5 and VC++ .
  • Proprietary protocol developed is based on TCP/IP.
  • Development Environment: Android studio, xCode, VS 2012 and Phonegap.

 

  • January 30, 2017
  • 0

Top 5 Hybrid Mobile App Development Frameworks

Tags :

Category : Digital Commerce & Experience Blog

With technological advancement, mobile app developers have to learn new tactics and methods to create more advanced and high quality applications that provide effortless use and convenience to users. Technology has opened new doors for mobile app developers and introduced many frameworks that allow them to create single application for various platforms. Such apps are called hybrid applications because they are compatible with different mobile operating systems.

Hybrid Mobile Applications

These applications are more like mobile optimized websites, written in CSS, HTML or JavaScript and consist of well-refined and well-established webview to work efficiently with different mobile platforms. Hybrid applications allow programmers to minimize their efforts and time required for app development, meaning that their one product will serve users of different OS.

There are numerous mobile application frameworks that help developers to create high quality and responsive apps. Let’s have a look at top 5 frameworks that are mostly preferred:

  1. Ionic

    2. Considered as the best framework among its counterparts, Ionic prides itself in being free for mobile app developers. The framework is quite easy to use, scalable and works on clean markups to allow developers to complete their tasks with efficiency and perfection. The framework comes with optimized mobile library of JavaScript, HTML and CSS features that enable robustness in the developed apps. It also includes an open-source framework and HTML5 along with Front-desk SDK for design creation and enhanced graphical quality.

  2. Framework 7

    3. A factworth mentioning about Framework 7 is the absence of external dependency like React or Angular.. For satisfactory results, it is necessary to have high quality animations and properly styled components. Developerscan create apps without code undulation and Framework 7 usually relies upon CSS, HTML and JavaScript.

  3. Mobile Angular UI

    4. As an HTML5 framework, Mobile Angular UI uses AngularJS and Bootstrap 3 for developing interactive and responsive mobile applications. The best thing about Mobile Angular UI is that it has all those Bootstrap3 components that are unavailable in other frameworks i.e. overlays, sidebars and switches. AngularJS provides angular-animate, angular-route and angular-touch to the applications.

  4. Intel XDK

    5. Intel created a cross platform app named Intel XDK that is quite easy to use and can be downloaded on Mac, Linux and Windows for developing hybrid mobile apps. It is equipped with various templates and supports different UI frameworks like Topcoat, Twitter bootstrap and jQuery Mobile. The framework allows developers to preview the app on any connected device so that they are rest assured about theapp’s efficiency and functionality.

  5. Sencha Touch

    6. When it’s about having cross-platform applications with JavaScript and HTML5 features, Sencha Touch tends to be a good framework as it provides maximum support in developing hybrid apps. The framework is particularly suitable for large organizations that can invest a significant amount of money. It includes Ext.JS that ensures exceptional performance of the apps.

    So, to create highly efficient and responsive hybrid mobile applications, mobile developers can select any of the aforementioned frameworks and start working.

    Hope you liked this blog post. Do you have a great app idea in your mind? Book a free session with our mobile app development consultants to evaluate your project idea and you free guidance on project implementation.

  • January 20, 2017
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10 Ultimate Mobile App Development Outsourcing Checklist – Infographic

Tags :

Category : Digital Commerce & Experience Blog

This infographic is created from the blog post “10 Ultimate Checkpoints Before You Outsource A Mobile App Development Project“. Visit the blog post to learn more on each point.

Mobile App Development
 

  • January 17, 2017
  • 0

10 Ultimate Checkpoints Before You Outsource A Mobile App Development Project

Tags :

Category : Digital Commerce & Experience Blog

Long before we realized, mobile apps had become an integral part of day-to-day interactions in this digital and connected world.

The mobile app has served as a pivotal tool/platform to create disruption in the B2C space in areas such as online shopping or m-commerce, payment wallets, messaging, social networking, IoT for Home Automation and Connected Car mobility applications.

The B2B space has also witnessed a similar disruption in areas of Industrial IoT and enterprise-wide digital transformation of processes to enhance productivity.

With a host of design and development software technologies, cloud server backend and system integrations working behind the scenes, Mobile App Development is a technology, skill and infrastructure intensive project.

A business that has identified mobile app(s) as an integral part of its business growth and/or digital transformation journey can approach this development project in following two ways:

  • Develop and nurture in-house talent of mobile app software developers, UI designers and software testers and build a powerful internal engineering team
  • Partner with a technology partner who has expertise and experience in delivering top-notch mobile apps

If your organization has chosen to continue to focus on the core business and work with a technology partner, here are some of the most important things that you, or every company, should work on before hiring a third party for ecommerce mobile app development, IoT  mobile app development or any other mobile app development projects:

  1. Explain Business Objectives: Since every business has a mission, the technology partner must understand their core values, business type and the reasons to launch a mobile application. They must analyze the industry along with the need and engagement of customers with similar products.

  2. Platform Selection: Usually, one of three platforms is used by mobile phone users: iOS, Windows or Android. The business has to decide on the availability of their mobile application on the basis of information reach, security constraints, utility patterns and cost.

  3. Native or HTML5 Approach: They are basically two techie jargons that offer different mobile app capabilities to the business. If the business wants to offer a high-quality product with excellent performance and efficiency, then Native approach would be the best choice. But, like every high-quality product, the company needs to dedicate a large budget for app development. On the contrary, HTML5 is a relatively cost effective option for businesses that want mobile web development as well.

  4. Target Devices: When a company selects a development approach, it is necessary to specify the target devices that should be compatible with the mobile application. Since the mobile app developers need to consider device specifications and other aspects, businesses need to identify their target users so that the application can be developed suitably.

  5. Integrated Service: The business should have a clear picture about the features and services of the mobile app. If they want the application to work as a promotion utility, integrating social media would be a good decision, or if the application is an e-commerce platform then payment gateway integration becomes necessary.

  6. Content In The App:App developers are responsible for coding the mobile app in such a way that more and more users can use it. Its design and content should be appealing. The business owners should spell out their expectations—the layout, typography, screens, icons, content and color they would like to add in their product.

  7. Data Security: Since every mobile application requires users to enter their personal information, the business has to pay special attention to data security so that the developer can integrate data protection features like third party cloud packages.

  8. Microsite or Landing Pages: When it comes to promotion of and branding the mobile application, nothing could be better than having a landing page or microsite that highlights all features, specifications and functionalities. It may add extra bucks to the development cost but the benefits will outweigh this.

  9. App Deployment Procedure: If the app is intended for external users, the company will need to spend money on its registration and submission in app stores. However, if they go for internal application deployment, Mobile Device Management (MDM) should be the part of their business activities.

  10. Support and Maintenance: Developing a mobile app is just one phase of having mobile presence. The company has to make decisions about its maintenance and ongoing technical support.

Hope you’ve found this checklist useful! Do you have a great app idea in your mind? Book a free session with our ecommerce app development consultants to evaluate your project idea and provide free guidance on project implementation.

  • January 11, 2017
  • 0

The top 5 trends in mobile app development in 2017

Tags :

Category : Digital Commerce & Experience Blog

The best advantage apps have is that they make your business near omnipresent—in the customer’s pocket, on his cellphone, in the briefcase on the tablet, maybe even on his wrist on a smartwatch.

But while the advantages of developing apps for your business are well-known by now, the real challenge is acquiring and retaining app users, as these stats clearly show:

mobile app development

Yet few apps tend to do significantly better. These apps usually

1) understand their target audience
2) are built with robust technology and on a stable platform, and,
3) encourage effective engagement with users.

Here is the list of top features and trends for mobile app development in 2017 that will boost usability and engagement.

1)      More mobile IoT

Cloub-based apps have made IoT integration with apps possible, and domains such as automotive (connected car, fleet management, fleet tracking, etc.), connected healthcare, security, etc. have found effective ways to utilize this capability.

Experimentation and innovation in this field will continue to grow, proportionate to users’ thirst for the instant and convenience

2)      Location-based services and beacon technology for more engagement

If there’s one feature that reach out to customers at the right place and the right time, it has to be location-based services.

Targeted and personalized marketing to observe customer behavior and offer real-time deals will help business not just acquire new customers but bring old ones back into the fold.

3)      Personalized offerings with artificial intelligence

After Starbucks’ big announcement last month to include chatbots in its app, AI will continue to make headlines in 2017.

But it’s way beyond chatbots—facial recognition, predictive analysis, recommendations, these all come under the realm of AI, and as business owners realize the vast scope of it, they will find more ways to use AI to suit their needs.

4)      The need for increased mobile security

With the growth of mobile phone usage (where records user behavior and stores so much sensitive information) and connectivity, security breach is a looming threat.

Users themselves aren’t often stringent with security measures, but any kind of a breach or hole in security can quickly be the downfall of a business.

So the focus on app security is definitely required, and sure to earn the trust of users.

5)      Streamlining operations with enterprise apps

Such is the projected demand for enterprise apps, studies have shown that developers will not be able to keep up with it.

More and more companies are using the potential of enterprise apps to increase worker productivity, perform tasks, and equip employees with tools and information.

An example of this is Tata Trent’s enterprise app that has helped it increase operational efficiency.

The pace of change is increasing, and it helps to be informed and prepared with the right measures to keep one step ahead of competition. Keep these trends in mind when it comes to you mobile app, and you are sure to enjoy a lead!

  • September 26, 2016
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5 Cool Augmented Reality Apps that Helped Businesses Boost Sales

Tags :

Category : Digital Commerce & Experience Blog

Augmented reality is isn’t just about Pokemon Go and gaming. Yes, the composite view created offers and immersive experience that transports the user into a near-alternate reality, but that feature doesn’t have to be restricted to fictional games.

What you do with augmented reality within your mobile app is up to you. It has popularly been used by home furniture stores such as IKEA to virtually place furniture in your premises and show you how it will look there.

Fashion and beauty brands have used it to demonstrate looks to the customers, without having to actually try on the make-up and apparel.

Hence, augmented reality has shown potential to directly boost sales, as in the above examples, or it can be used creatively to offer that something extra that sets you apart from competition.

Here are 5 examples of how augmented reality has been used to deliver delight to users in a way that will keep them coming back for more.

1) Wikitude World Browser

Wikitude World BrowserThis app is often referred to as a ‘third eye’. That’s simply because you point your camera in the vicinity and this app shows you the world around you in new light.

Looking for coffee shops, ATMs, cinemas or anything else?  Wikitude is like the Wikipedia of location targeting.

Wikitude sources its content from thousands of content providers and is a great example of how one app can use augmented reality to offer a rich location-based experience.

It’s a great way for local businesses to get on the grid.

2) Star Chart

Star ChartIf Wikitude lets you explore the world about you here on Earth, Star Chart takes it to the skies.

Working on a similar ‘point and shoot’ action, Star Chart is an educational app that shares information about stars, constellations and planets in any direction—even on the opposite end of the world.

The idea is evident, augmented reality apps can be used to disseminate information that in a wholesome way.

Imagine doing this within a massive mall, or a large department store, to make navigation easier for shoppers.

3) Augmented Car Finder

Augmented Car FinderHow many times have you gone to the mall or parked at a distance from your office only to be unsure of where you parked later?

Augmented Car Finder simplifies the experience for you—step out of your car, save the location on the app, simply follow the arrow back on your screen when it’s time to get back.

This app uses the GPS capability of your phone to guide you back, using augmented reality to show you the direction your car is in.

Similarly, what if you could look for the cheese rack in your supermarket? Or make your way to back to the crèche where you left your kids?

Augmented reality can exploit the many capabilities of smartphones to understand and fulfil user needs.

4) Layar

LayarImagine you’re leafing through a magazine and you see an article you’re interested in. If the article has been ‘Layarized,’ you can scan the article through the Layar app, and related digital content (voice files, videos, slideshows) become visible to you immediately on the page, through your phone.

Then you see a print ad that you’re interested in. Once again, you scan it and purchase links to the products become visible on the page, through the app.

You get the idea—Layar enhances the user experience by letting you add digital detail to anything—movie posters, flyers, newspapers, even coffee cup sleeves!

This is how augmented reality lets you introduce digital transformation to your existing marketing—for instance, mail order catalogs can be digitized to make the shopping experience more modern and user-friendly.

5) Crayola Color Alive

Crayola Color AliveCrayola, the coloring supplies brand, deploys augmented reality to take the user experience to a whole new level.

Color the figures in your coloring book, scan them through the Color Alive app and watch the colored characters come alive with animation and special effects.

Needless to say, a great exercise in adding excitement and building brand loyalty, Crayola shows how to creatively use augmented reality to complement one’s products.

These diverse ways of using augmented reality should help to get you thinking to see how you can use it for your brand and products. Augmented reality goes one step beyond the imagination to show you what can be, use its versatility to create a memorable experience for your users.

  • September 7, 2016
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How to Get Your Retail Website & App Ready for the Festive Season

Tags :

Category : Digital Commerce & Experience Blog

Last week, India’s ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart started their war of words in anticipation of the festive season, claiming to respectively double and triple the previous year’s performance.

There’s no argument about the importance of the “holiday season” in India for ecommerce retail. Referring to this pre-Diwali period of about 60 days, Rahul Taneja, a former VP at Snapdeal, once said, “In under three months, you do 35 percent of the year’s business. It is a significant season.”

While the ecommerce behemoths commenced their preparation for the festival season months ago by expanding warehouses, onboarding more sellers and increasing product variety, mid-size ecommerce businesses need to gear up too in order to enjoy a share of the increased sales. A significant aspect of this preparation involves getting your customer’s touchpoint—in this case, the website—ready.

Over the last few years, all the leading players (Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Shopclues) have reported at least 70% of their festival-season traffic from mobile devices. So it has become equally important to get your mobile app too ready for the festive shopping rush.

Last year, we shared tips for ecommerce retail businesses to prepare for the festival season. We have updated this list to share some steps that will get you ready to successfully handle the increased demand and enjoy a boost in sales.

1) Offers, deals, contests for the festive season

Put yourself in the shoes of the customer—what does he usually buy around this time? Decorative items for the household, new appliances and gadgets, items for gifting, clothes for the festive celebrations… Now design offers and deals accordingly: discounts on cellphones, product bundling of Pooja thalis and torans … you get the drift.

Contests are great way to draw customers to your app and keep them there.

Amazon Treasure Hunt

 
Case in point: Amazon’s app treasure hunt. Amazon provides clues that, once solved, will lead the customer to a product that will be available to him at a throwaway price like Re1.

Draw existing as well as new customers with season-specific deals, offers and contests.

2) Email campaigns

You have come up with irresistible offers and competitive pricing for your products, but do your customers know about these deals?

Creating attractive content is only one half of the job, promoting it suitably and reaching out to as many as possible is the other half. Design and schedule timely emails to all your previous customers, as well to prospective customers who have been interested enough to leave their email addresses with you. In these emails, you should showcase the offers festival-specific offers you have created, the new stock you’re offering and special discounts for recipients.

As customers are already prepared to shop, drawing them to your website or app is simply a matter of reaching out to them at the right time. Evaluate your customers’ shopping history during the festive season and schedule your email campaigns accordingly.

3) Festival-special website and app interface

Superficial as it may seem, creating the right UX through festive design is vital too. Retail stores and ecommerce businesses worldwide adopt festive décor or templates to heighten the festive shopping experience and encourage visitors to make purchases. For Diwali, bright yellow shades such as gold and orange take precedence, while for Christmas, red is seen to be the most popular choice.

Banners, graphics, buttons, loader animation can all be customized to reflect the festive spirit, while retaining brand identity. Maintaining your usual page look is likely to be less encouraging to customers, and will be detrimental to conversion.

4) Facilitate wishlist creation & sharing

A significant part of shopping during the festival season constitutes purchasing gifts. People give and receive gifts, so wishlists are particularly useful for your customers to share the items they would like to receive with loved ones.

If you already have this feature on your website, check to ensure it functions properly and can be shared through email and on social media.

5) Pop-ups and overlays

A simple but effective feature that helps boost conversion is the pop-up on websites. Whether you want to highlight special offers, reduce cart abandonment (by setting a pop up as someone leaves the website), or encourage customers to share information about their purchases and available deals, pop-ups are incredibly easy for customers to use and often lead to increased engagement.

6) Traffic management & load handling

If you’re going to attract more customers, you need to be equipped to handle the load. Flipkart’s 2014 Big Billion Day fiasco served as a lesson to many, and it applies to your mobile app too.
By using the load balancer at the server end, you can distribute traffic across servers and keep up website and app performance.

7) Location targeting (Geo Fencing) feature of the mobile app

 Geofencing Feature

 
One of the many benefits of reaching out to customers through an app is being able to reach them at the right time and the right place.

By using location-targeting, you can reach out to customers when they are in the vicinity through notifications regarding promotions, offers and deals. By reaching out to them at an opportune moment, there is a high likelihood of conversions.

8) Update and clean up

Have you been getting bug reports? Or has any feature been lagging? Now is the time to resolve such issues and ensure a seamless UX for your website and app.

For best results, use this opportunity to analyze the rich data you get from analytics tools: peak hours, timely notifications, browsing behavior etc, and modify accordingly.

So pull up your socks and get ready to execute the orders that come pouring in!

Embitel Technologies is a trusted ecommerce website development and mobile app development company based in Bangalore, India. Reach out to us to know more about our services.

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