AutomationDirect is proud to announce that its C-more CM5-RHMI headless HMI has been awarded the Gold Medal in the Industrial Automation category of the 2025 LEAP Awards! The awards program, organized by Design World, recognizes innovative engineering achievements in product and component design across a range of categories. These categories also span other WTWH Media brands including Fluid Power World, EE World, and Engineering.com.
Winners are selected each year by an independent judging panel. Earning the LEAP Gold Medal validates the vision behind the CM5: to deliver powerful and flexible HMI functionality at a lower price point than conventional solutions. By removing the built-in display, the headless design offers several concrete advantages:
- Cost-Effectiveness: Eliminating the display reduces the bill of materials, allowing the device to be priced significantly lower than comparable touch-screen HMIs.
- Compact Footprint: Without a display, the unit fits into tighter panels and enclosures, simplifying installation in cramped control cabinets or retrofit projects.
- Display Flexibility: Users can choose to implement the CM5 “behind the scenes” with no display, or the device outputs video to any HDMI-compatible screen, including TVs, monitors, projectors, and large-format displays, so users can choose the optimal screen for their needs, and can even relocate the display to a boardroom, break room, or remote control room.
- Resolution Freedom: Because the HMI does not dictate a native resolution, it supports a wide range of display modes, ensuring crisp visuals on monitors of all sizes.
In addition to its headless architecture, the CM5 boasts extensive connectivity options. Users can monitor and control automation systems remotely through a standard web browser or dedicated mobile app, potentially removing the need for a local screen entirely. Integrated USB, serial, and Ethernet ports, combined with support for all major industrial communication protocols, gives engineers the flexibility to integrate the device into virtually any existing infrastructure.
As part of the CM5 series, the device inherits the family’s reputation for reliable, industry-approved performance, and it includes a comprehensive suite of free software tools. The package offers a full-featured HMI programming environment with an integrated simulator, plus utilities for managing process data, recipes, and alarms, allowing developers to design, test, and deploy applications without additional licensing costs.
The LEAP Gold Medal further underscores the growing market impact. The judges concluded that the CM5 is “a great device that has the potential to make life easier. The feature of supporting any TVs, monitors, and projectors without any size limitations is a winner, in addition to the wide range of supported resolutions. Nice work!”
Find out more about the innovative C-more CM5 at https://www.automationdirect.com/c-more/cm5/cm5-headless-hmi .