SECO to showcase Modular Vision product line at EW

Running from 11-13 March in Nuremberg, Germany, this event for embedded computing technology provides the ideal stage for SECO to present its new solutions designed to transform how industries provide smart interactive displays within machinery and appliances.

These Human-Machine Interface (HMI) assemblies, also known as Panel PCs, provide a drop-in embedded computing platform with display, allowing OEMs to avoid the time and expense of ground-up engineering. The samples showcased at EW25 are available to early adopters, paving the way to imminent volume manufacturing.

The Modular Vision series is SECO’s answer to the ever-evolving demands of not only heavily technological industries like industrial automation and healthcare, but also new business opportunities enabled by automation.

Example uses range from smart kiosks, to industrial baking ovens, from chemical measurement devices for swimming pools to welding machines and climate chambers. With a focus on modularity, flexibility, and scalability, these HMIs empower businesses to adapt swiftly to changing technological and operational needs.

At the heart of the Modular Vision series is its function to integrate with various Edge computing and IoT ecosystems and evolve with them, allowing users to achieve faster deployments, reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency and offer added-value services through their smart products.

Businesses can choose from a set of standard display sizes: a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1024 x 600, a 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 and a 15.6-inch display with full HD resolution at 1920 x 1080. Each HMI features a projected capacitive (PCAP) touchscreen with 400 cd/m² brightness, an LED backlight lifetime of 50,000 hours and supports panel, flush, rear, and VESA-mount configurations, ensuring reliability, durability and versatility of installation for industrial applications.

The Modular Vision series supports, among others, typical industrial interfaces such as CAN-FD, RS-232/RS-485 full duplex and multiple GPIOs. In addition, standard computer interfaces (USB-C, USB-A, Ethernet) are available allowing the most versatile usage of Modular Vision.

Beyond its design, the Modular Vision series shines with its scalability characteristic. It supports multiple embedded processor chipsets and architectures. The Arm-based MediaTek Genio 700/510 platform, NXP i.MX 8M Plus and i.MX 93 processors offer 64-bit Cortex-A computing supplemented by Neural Processing Units (NPUs) for enabling Edge-based cost-effective and energy-efficient machine learning (ML) applications.

Among x86 architectures, the Intel Atom x7000RE processor series provides compatibility with a range of performance needs. The HMI’s modular architectural design facilitates the interchangeability of the processor platform across the various display sizes peripheral interface boards, and mechanical features – making it easy to customise an HMI platform for product-specific requirements.

Moreover, the Modular Vision series runs Clea OS, a Linux operating system based on the Yocto Project. Clea OS incorporates critical remote device management, data processing, and standard IoT communication protocols, facilitating easy development of Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

With a supporting DevOps infrastructure, long term support, and optional run-time processor execution monitoring, its structure enables applications to be rebuilt across a wide variety of microprocessor targets furthering the modularity of the HMI family.

Clea OSoffers native compatibility with SECO’s Clea IoT platform, which provides all the features necessary for businesses to easily deploy fully scalable IoT infrastructure. Clea combines IoT data management and modelling, device and fleet management, AI model deployment and retraining both on Edge and Cloud. A user portal provides visualisation and management functions. With an application framework for deploying business-specific services and payment solutions, Clea enables innovative business models.

Modular Vision is also supported by other operating systems, such as Windows and Android (upon request).