Virtually all solutions existing today to display PLC data on mobile devices are based on Web or Remote Desktop technologies. During recent years, a number of Web based applications for presenting HMIs on tablets have appeared. Web browsers are readily available on most mobile devices and they are a low cost technology which, for the most part, do not require any new development for HMI system vendors. At the same time, Remote Desktop software, also known as VNC, has been used for some time to connect remotely with existing SCADAs or HMIs already running on PCs.
This white paper discuses a remaining alternative to enable mobile devices to run HMIs in a Native way and lists important differences that characterize a native platform with relation to web based systems for implementing HMIs on tablet devices.