The operator interface for the Mirror Fusion Test Facility
The uncertain and most likely changing nature of a large experimental facility like MFTF, as well as its large number of control and monitor points, ruled against the traditional hardware approach involving walls of knobs, dials, oscilloscopes, and strip chart recorders. Rather, from the beginning, project management specified computer control of all systems, and operation of the complete MFTF under an integrated computer control system became a major engineering goal. The Integrated Controls and Diagnostics (ICADS) group was charged with the design and implementation of this control system. We designed a control system with an extremely flexible operator interface which uses computer generated CRT displays for output and pointing devices such as touch sensitive CRT overlays, mice, and joysticks for input. Construction of MFTF was completed at the end of 1985 within the project budget of $241.6M and was followed immediately by a 5 month long acceptance test. During this period (known as PACE test) operators, engineers, and physicists successfully used our computer control system daily to test MFTF. Much of their willingness to forsake the traditional hands-on hardware approach to testing was a result of the powerful and flexible operator interface to the MFTF control system. In this paper, we describe the operator interface with emphasis on the displays, the touch screens, and the mouse. We also report the experiences of users and, in particular, stress those aspects of the user interface they strongly liked and disliked.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 7005583
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-95588; CONF-861244-1; ON: DE87002755
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ACM SIGCHI workshop on mixed modes of interaction, Key West, FL, USA, 15 Dec 1986; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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