The continuous product evolution cycle that exists in today’s engineering industry brings with it enormous pressure for businesses to launch new and exciting products to the market faster than ever. The ability, therefore, to take a product from concept to a fully-functional device, in a greatly reduced time period is vital. Organisations may typically find this too much of a challenge, resulting in them falling behind their competitors. A lack of development resources can also lead to products being released with poorly designed user interfaces, a critical factor that will reduce market uptake.
Case in Point
An example in which rapid product development was of the utmost importance was when the team at Oxford Optronix were required to provide cPAP (continuous Positive Airway Pressure) medical devices to the NHS. A project that would normally have taken two years to complete was successfully undertaken in just a few days, helped by using a code-free integrated display hardware and software solution. The team at Oxford Optronix were able to deliver 2,000 of their Flo-Ox monitors – which utilised the PanelPilotACE as the embedded display HMI – to support treatment for COVID-19 patients.
The Right Tools for the Job
To accelerate development rapidly, two key factors need to be addressed. Firstly, to avoid having to integrate display hardware with the rest of the product, a pre-integrated solution is needed, 
where the display can be installed immediately and is already integrated with all the digital and analogue I/O required. The second factor is the need to avoid writing any bespoke code to drive the display and generate the user interface that’s so critical to the success of any product. Specifying, writing and debugging code can take weeks for even a simple interface. Interface design software is required, but, of course, it must be powerful enough to create the necessary data processing while also being fully compatible with the display hardware.
Ace It with PanelPilot
The top-of-the-range PanelPilotACE is a unique platform, ideal for the rapid development of touchscreen machine interfaces and system monitoring displays. These full-colour high-resolution touch screens are perfect for simple applications or even as full process-controlling HMIs. Available in 4.3” and 7” versions, the PanelPilotACE uses Lascar’s own Design Studio software that allows app development using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
From background images to text elements, analogue style meters, touch screen navigation, complex logic statements, PID control, serial communications, multi-channel data logging, Ethernet FTP for logged data transfer, trend graphs and maths functionality. The PanelPilot range from Lascar Electronics offers a unique series of smart graphic displays that enable the creation of fully bespoke, multi-screen interfaces without writing a single line of code
Lascar’s online PanelPilotACE University shares templates and graphics to use in your display project as well as video tutorials for basic and advanced users.
The PanelPilot range also consists of the lower-cost M Series and the low-power e-paper B Series. Between them, this range is suitable for applications ranging from hand-held displays to industrial process control or scientific equipment.
If you would like your display product designed for you, we also offer a ‘one-stop’ Custom Design service, so please call us to discuss your requirements. All PanelPilot software is free to download from our website.
Lascar Electronics has a team of sales engineers that can help you with any queries that you have about your display project. We’ll be exhibiting at the Southern Manufacturing show from February 
7th, find us on stand D160, or visit our website at www.panelpilot.com for more information.
sales@lascar.co.uk
01794884567
Lascarelectronics.com
