Control Room User Interface Technology in the Year 2000: Evolution or Revolution?

Abstract

Control rooms—central facilities used to manage large systems such as industrial processes and communication networks—are a relatively recent innovation. As the operators of large systems are asked to perform more efficiently, use more sophisticated control systems, and take on more duties and responsibilities, developers of control room equipment have sought to improve operators' ability to interact effectively with their systems. Control rooms have evolved as a result: Pen recorders and mechanical gauges were replaced by text displays on low-resolution monochrome cathode ray tubes, which were in turn supplanted by higher resolution color graphics displays. A new generation of technology now emerging from multiple disciplines will greatly affect control rooms. Some of these technologies, such as bigger displays, improved simulations, and better graphics, represent evolutionary advances. Others, including artificial intelligence technologies such as user intent recognition and context-sensitive aiding, user interface technologies such as virtual reality, multimedia, and true three-dimensional displays, and systems technologies such as object-oriented programming techniques and high-performance communications, may well revolutionize the control rooms of the future, replacing supervisory control with collaborative operations in which the system and the operator will share tasks associated with planning, conducting, and optimizing operations.