We saw something of this new release of Ignition HMI/SCADA by Inductive Automation at the Ignition Community Conference in September. The key element of the release is that it’s a long-term support release. But it also expands upon some of the ground-breaking features introduced last year in Ignition 8.
Inductive Automation released Ignition 8.1, which will help users develop Ignition projects more rapidly and use them more effectively. Ignition by Inductive Automation is an industrial application platform with tools for building solutions in human-machine interface (HMI), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), manufacturing execution systems (MES), and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Ignition is used in virtually every industry in more than 100 countries and has been implemented at 54 of the Fortune 100 companies.
Ignition 8.1 can help users future-proof their systems for years to come. It’s a Long-Term Support release, so it will be supported by Inductive Automation for five years. While 8.1 is focused on performance and stability, it also includes several new features.
“Ignition 8.1 is all the innovation and power of the Ignition platform, refined into a high-performing, secure, and reliable package ready for the future,” said Carl Gould, director of software engineering for Inductive Automation.
Ignition 8.1 builds upon Ignition’s unlimited licensing model, cross-platform compatibility, modular approach, and use of open technology standards. Last year’s release of Ignition Perspective brought powerful new capabilities to mobile devices. It saved development time by allowing users to design a single Perspective application that displays properly on screens of any size. And it put full control of the plant floor on smartphones and tablets.
With Ignition 8.1’s new Perspective Workstation, users can deploy native applications to any HMI, desktop, workstation, and multi-monitor configuration without a third-party web browser. Screens can be displayed in full-screen kiosk mode with no distractions from the underlying operating system.
Perspective Symbols make it easier and faster than ever to create attractive HMIs. Symbols have dynamic data models, so binding them to process values is drag-and-drop. Each Symbol comes in three different styles, so users can customize to their preferences. Users can easily add animation and supporting text.
Perspective Power Chart allows users to easily create runtime-configurable time series charts from Tag Historian data. Users can quickly generate ad hoc charts within a Perspective session. Power Chart also adapts automatically for mobile screens.
Ignition 8.1 also includes several shortcuts to save time in development, a more powerful tag browser, and the ability to work with Docker Hub. For new users, Ignition Quick Start has several tools to help people quickly get going on creating projects. All of these new features save time for developers.
For more information on Ignition 8.1, visit Inductive Automation’s What’s New webpage.
