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What are headless systems?

Headless systems are systems or device, which are configured remotely without having a configuration option on the device itself.

State of the art

Intuitive operation and control of devices are exemplified from the smartphone world. No manual has ever been printed for any app. Users are guided to their basic settings via wizards and make the advanced settings in the menu intuitively. So in addition to functionality, is easy useage an important component.

Today's controls and electronic components have evolved massively in functionality and contain more software than the Space Shuttle in the 1970s. This is caused by increased requirements and perfomance for such devices. They should be flexible to use and offer numerous customisation options, in the B2B as well as in the B2C sectors.

However, the menus in this class of devices have hardly changed so far. This is a big contradiction, especially since user experience plays an important role nowadays.

Having a look at the different device classes today, many providers still stick to well-tried menu navigation.

Here is an example from event technology:

A spotlight moves from event to event and always has different tasks to fulfil. A technician hangs the device in the desired position. Afterwards he does the power and data cabling. In the end the device is configured for its use. Typical settings are DMX address, DMX mode, brightness characteristics and limitations. This is a repetitive and time-consuming process, especially for large events with more than 1000 devices. Most devices still have the classic 4-button operation (Up/Down/Enter/Back). 

Sample procedure for a value change:

- Select menu item (at least 1 click),

- Activate changes (1 click),

- Change value (at least 1 click),

- Save (1 click),

- Optionally one level back (1 click).

This leads to at least four, rather five interactions (clicks). With three more configuration changes, a technician will have 16 interactions per device in the best case. Realistically rather 20 to 30 interactions.

Another example from industry:

Manufacturing machines and their tool heads are increasingly equipped with intelligence since Industry 4.0. Regardless if it are controllers, intelligent sensors or actuators. For example a small robot arm and its tools, hardly offer any space for large displays and fancy menu controls. Moreover, these are also used in manufacturing processes that are exposed to extreme conditions such as heat, water pressure, contamination, etc. For this reason, the well-tried 4-button control is still used here instead of displays. The configuration is often installed in a way that is difficult to access in order to protect the control system and also requires the manufacturing process to be stopped.

Disadvantages / obstacles

These are only two examples, but they represent a general spread of this menu navigation in products.

For cost reasons, savings are often made on the quality of the displays, which is reflected in the display size and resolution. Sometimes even a block of four seven-segment displays is used, known from the digital alarm clocks in the 1980s. This results in a very limited display format. To display a large number of adjustable parameters a very complex, nested and difficult-to-understand menu navigation is indispensable. In addition, depending on the IP class, the push-buttons have special mechanical requirements, that is why the number is reduced to the bare minimum. If touch control is already available, it is usually implemented in a very rudimentary way.

Headless systems enable suppliers to retrofit their devices cost-effectively

With headless systems, the extended operation is outsourced to a mobile end device as an app (e.g. smartphone). They dispense with graphic output, reduce themselves to the essentials and are thus compactly built. It is sufficient to retrofit the existing device with a circuit board in size of a 1-euro coin."

Innovation / novelty

So why not combine the best of both worlds and use the already mentioned intuitive operation via smartphones with the compactness of embedded systems?

Today's smartphones are equipped with very high-quality touch displays. Mature development platforms that are accessible to everyone are available for app development. Due to the variety of graphical control elements, an intuitive display can be selected for each parameter.

Bluetooth LE is a cost-effective and widespread networking technology that can be integrated into the smallest devices.

At the same time, the use of headless systems separates the application logic from user guidance. The embedded device becomes the database, which is configured on the smartphone via a user interface that is separate from the device.

Compared to the above example with the spotlight, the following interactions now result:

- Select menu item e.g. via slider (1 interaction)

- scroll through the menu and set parameters (1 interaction)

- finally, save (1 interaction)

For comparable four changes, only six interactions are needed instead of 20 to 30. If the same changes for groups are combined in templates, this can even be reduced to only one interaction.

By using headless systems, spotlights no longer need to be configured individually for the same configuration. They can be configured together at the same time. This automation of operations represents a considerable simplification compared to the old method.

Coming back to the example above: With Headless Systems, the production machines and their tool heads can be used in any type of production process. From the point of view of menu navigation, adverse production conditions are no longer a problem, since the production machines and their tool heads can now be built compactly and as a closed unit. Downtimes for configurations are also no longer necessary, as these can be conveniently triggered in parallel via the smartphone.

Advantages / Conclusion:

- Only configuration parameters in the embedded device

- Menu in the smartphone saves memory in the embedded device

- Localisation (languages) can be easily added via the mobile app

- Updates in menu navigation and advanced UX can be easily adapted and extended via wizards in the mobile app

- Very large touch displays in relation to the embedded devices, which could never have been integrated in this size

- Embedded devices can be made even more compact if operating elements can be omitted

- can also be used as a cloud variant using WiFi, LoRaWAN, 5G, ZigBee, Z-Wave

Who we are:

Holger Fürstenberger is the managing director of Ingenieurbüro Embedded. The engineering office is specialised in the development of embedded systems components for the industrial, automotive, medical and home automation sectors.

Author: Holger Fürstenberger, Ingenieurbüro Embedded // Member HubWerk01

Image source used: Pixabay

For better readability, we have used the generic masculine.