HMI for explosive atmospheres

General Atomic Electronic Systems Inc. (GA-ESI) Terminal Automation Products division, serving the bulk petroleum and chemical storage and distribution industry for 30 years, expands its specialized products and system integration expertise with the HMI-3000Ex touchscreen computer rated for use in Class 1 Div. 1 and ATEX Zone 1 environments. Modern control systems are becoming more distributed. Instead of centralized controls in one environmentally controlled area of a facility, control equipment and interface points often are located near the equipment they are controlling or monitoring. For operators to interface with these distributed control systems (view status of equipment, monitor process conditions, change control modes or set points, etc.), they need an HMI. Distributed HMI allows companies to reduce labor costs, reduce compliance risk, and achieve greater operational efficiency. GA-ESI has developed a touchscreen computer housed in an explosion-proof box that allows the computer to be placed in hazardous areas. It was initially developed as part of an automated control system with integrated PLCs, I/O modules, and specialized software applications for the bulk terminal industry and can be used in various other hazardous areas where an HMI is required.

Technology is a broad concept that deals with an animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects an animal species' ability to control and adapt to its environment. Technology is a term with origins in the Greek "technologia".However, a strict definition is elusive; "technology" can refer to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, hardware or utensils, but can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include "construction technology", "medical technology", or "state-of-the-art technology".
The human race's use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communicatio and allowed humans to interact on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.
Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.
Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements criticise the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world, claiming that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition.