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Not every HMI has a display

Article#: 00122

Date: 2026-08-13

Author: Radim



Operator at HMI

Not every HMI (Human Machine Interface) has a display. And this is often misunderstood.

When people in industrial automation talk about an HMI, most immediately think of a screen or touch panel with a graphical visualization of the machine. From a technical point of view, however, this is not entirely correct.

An HMI is the interface between a human and a machine. The term does not define how this interface is implemented. It can be as simple as a single push button and an indicator light, or it can consist of one or more screens with numerous graphical visualization pages.

This means that even a simple machine equipped with START and STOP buttons, a mode selector switch, and a few indicator lights already has an HMI - even if it has no graphical visualization at all.

A graphical visualization is therefore a part of the HMI, not a synonym for it.

So why is the term HMI so often used in practice when what is actually meant is just the visualization on a screen?

One reason certainly lies in the naming of related products and software solutions. Names such as Siemens WinCC HMI, TwinCAT HMI, or FactoryTalk HMI have contributed to the widespread use of the phrase "programming the HMI" in everyday engineering, even though what is often meant is the creation of the graphical visualization.

From a technical point of view, however, HMI is a much broader concept. It includes all the means by which a person operates a machine and receives information about its status - from mechanical push buttons and indicator lights to screens with graphical visualizations, alarms, trends, and diagnostic information.

At first glance, this may seem like a minor issue of terminology. Nevertheless, understanding the distinction is worthwhile because it helps us think more carefully about user interface design. A good HMI does not begin with designing attractive screens. It begins with a much more fundamental question: How should a person communicate with the machine?
The graphical visualization is simply one possible answer.

© Radim-Automation, 2020–2026. All rights reserved.
Sharing of this article is permitted with proper attribution (link to the original page).


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