Bringing Heavy Machinery Into the Digital Era

Visualize And Carry Out Construction Work In A Safer and Easier Way

Novatron is a trusted supplier of machine control systems, automation technology and components for machine manufacturers around the world. They develop, manufacture, and supply hardware and software to increase the productivity, quality, safety, and sustainability of the earthmoving industry. Their customers are earthmoving contractors and construction equipment manufacturers. 

Novatron's headquarters is in Pirkkala, Finland, with a team of 140+ professionals and over 30 years of experience in the field of machine control. 

Novatron is a part of the German MOBA (Mobile Automation) AG, a globally recognized and trusted partner for supplying high-quality solutions for earthmoving, road construction, cranes and lifters, waste management, mining, and agriculture. 

An a-Qt need for change

Before moving to Qt, Novatron was using a Windows-based system, which was doing the job, but required a fair amount of maintenance work and had a myriad of legacy features. The team found Qt’s system easy and convenient to use, both internally and externally. Through Qt, they were able to eliminate unwanted legacy features, and combine everything within one functional framework, combining Linux and Qt.

For Novatron, Qt was particularly useful for its user interface: it allowed for the creation of a modern GUI with good UX for the custom-embedded devices without foregoing any high-end measurement features. Qt also enabled them to scale quickly and flexibly to a variety of environments. 

For their users, who are operators of heavy machinery, simplicity within the UI and UX was key, both for ease of use and for safety reasons. Various elements needed to be clearly and conveniently laid out, so that there was little room for error or danger. With Qt, the elements they required were already in the system, and Novatron was able to create a UI that works for everyone.

Novatron's favourite things about Qt:

• Qt for MCUs QM-based GUI controls can be easily implemented so that they work nicely with various screen resolutions
• Qt for MCUs GUI with touch interface enables a rich user experience with relatively low-cost hardware
• Developing a modern GUI with Qt for MCUs is very flexible and components can be reused easily. Developing similar UX with other available GUI frameworks could take 3-4 times more effort than Qt for MCUs
• QML is a great language for defining the GUI and the property bindings, and signaling system works seamlessly with C++ 
• The GUI code is relatively effective especially for embedded devices with ready-made GUI elements that can be customized and localized easily