Modernizing Mining and Industrial UI: Extracting Logic from Ruggedized Legacy Devices

The most critical systems in the world—those controlling autonomous mining drills, industrial kilns, and smelting plants—are often running on software written before the engineers maintaining them were born. In the industrial sector, "legacy" isn't just an architectural term; it’s a physical risk. When you are modernizing mining and industrial UI, you aren't just updating a dashboard; you are attempting to extract tribal knowledge from ruggedized black boxes that lack source code, documentation, or original authors.

The global technical debt bill has ballooned to $3.6 trillion, and nowhere is this more felt than in heavy industry. Here, the "Big Bang" rewrite is a death sentence for projects. Statistics show that 70% of legacy rewrites fail or significantly exceed their timelines. In a mining environment where every hour of downtime costs six figures, an 18-month rewrite timeline is a non-starter.

TL;DR: Modernizing mining and industrial UIs doesn't require manual code archaeology; by using Replay for visual reverse engineering, teams can extract business logic from screen recordings to build modern React interfaces in weeks, reducing effort from 40 hours per screen to just 4.

The Industrial Modernization Paradox#

Industrial interfaces (HMIs and SCADA systems) are unique. They often run on proprietary operating systems or ancient versions of Windows Embedded. They interface with PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) via protocols that are poorly understood by modern web developers.

The paradox is this: the business needs the agility of a modern React-based stack to integrate AI and remote monitoring, but the risk of breaking the underlying logic is too high to touch the code.

Why Traditional Modernization Fails in Heavy Industry#

1. •Documentation Gaps: 67% of legacy systems lack documentation. In mining, the "manual" is often a series of sticky notes on a terminal.
2. •The "Black Box" Problem: The original vendor may no longer exist, or the source code is lost in a defunct SVN repository.
3. •Validation Nightmare: In regulated environments (MSHA/OSHA), proving that a rewritten system behaves exactly like the legacy system is an exhaustive process.

From Pixels to React: The Visual Reverse Engineering Shift#

The future of modernization isn't rewriting from scratch—it's understanding what you already have. Replay introduces a paradigm shift: Video as the source of truth.

Instead of spending months performing "software archaeology," we record real user workflows on the legacy ruggedized device. Replay’s AI Automation Suite analyzes the visual state changes, identifies the underlying business logic, and generates documented React components.

💰 ROI Insight: Manual reverse engineering and UI reconstruction typically take 40 hours per screen. With Replay, this is reduced to 4 hours—a 90% reduction in engineering overhead.

Preserving Business Logic through Extraction#

In a mining UI, a specific sequence of button presses might be required to vent a pressure valve. If a developer misses a single conditional state during a manual rewrite, the results are catastrophic. Replay captures these "Flows" visually, ensuring the generated API contracts and frontend logic match the reality of the field operation.

typescript
// Example: Generated React component from Replay extraction
// This component preserves the legacy state machine for an industrial drill 
import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { Button, Alert, Gauge } from '@industrial-ui/core';

interface DrillState {
  pressure: number;
  isVenting: boolean;
  safetyLockEngaged: boolean;
}

export function PressureControlModule({ legacyId }: { legacyId: string }) {
  const [status, setStatus] = useState<DrillState>({
    pressure: 0,
    isVenting: false,
    safetyLockEngaged: true
  });

  // Replay extracted this logic from the legacy HMI's visual transitions
  const handleEmergencyVent = async () => {
    if (status.pressure > 80 && status.safetyLockEngaged) {
      // Logic identified from Frame 402-510 of the recording
      await triggerVentSequence();
      setStatus(prev => ({ ...prev, isVenting: true }));
    }
  };

  return (
    <div className="p-6 bg-slate-900 text-white rounded-lg">
      <Gauge value={status.pressure} max={100} label="PSI" />
      {status.pressure > 90 && (
        <Alert variant="critical">Critical Pressure Detected</Alert>
      )}
      <Button 
        onClick={handleEmergencyVent}
        disabled={!status.safetyLockEngaged}
        className="mt-4 bg-red-600 hover:bg-red-700"
      >
        Execute Emergency Vent
      </Button>
    </div>
  );
}

The 4-Step Framework for Modernizing Mining and Industrial UI#

Step 1: Workflow Recording#

Using Replay, operators record their standard operating procedures (SOPs) on the legacy hardware. This includes edge cases, error states, and "hidden" menus. This recording becomes the immutable documentation that 67% of systems lack.

Step 2: Visual Mapping and Extraction#

Replay’s engine parses the video, identifying UI patterns (buttons, inputs, gauges) and the transitions between them. It maps the "Black Box" behavior to a structured architecture.

📝 Note: In air-gapped mining environments, Replay can be deployed On-Premise to ensure data sovereignty and compliance with strict security protocols.

Step 3: Component and API Generation#

The platform generates a modern Library (Design System) based on the extracted elements. It also creates API contracts. For industrial systems, this often means defining how the modern web UI will communicate with an existing OPC-UA or Modbus gateway.

Step 4: Technical Debt Audit and Validation#

Before a single line of code is deployed to the field, Replay generates a Technical Debt Audit and E2E tests. These tests compare the new React component’s behavior against the original video recording to ensure 1:1 parity.

Addressing the "Ruggedized" Constraint#

Industrial devices aren't just software; they are hardware. They operate in high-vibration, high-dust, and low-connectivity environments. When modernizing mining and industrial UI, the target output must be:

• •Touch-First: Designed for gloved hands.
• •High Contrast: Readable in direct sunlight or dark mine shafts.
• •Resilient: Capable of offline operation with local state synchronization.

Replay helps generate these Blueprints by analyzing how users currently interact with physical buttons versus on-screen controls, allowing for a seamless transition to modern touch interfaces.

⚠️ Warning: Never assume legacy logic is redundant. Industrial systems often have "invisible" safety timers built into the UI layer. Visual extraction is the only way to catch these without original source code.

Case Study: Smelter Control Room Modernization#

A global mining leader faced a crisis: their primary smelting control interface was running on a Windows 95-based system. The hardware was failing, and no one understood the underlying C++ logic.

• •Manual Estimate: 14 months, $1.2M.
• •Replay Implementation: 6 weeks, $150k.
• •Outcome: By recording 20 hours of operator workflows, Replay extracted the core state machine. The team generated a React-based dashboard that interfaced with the existing PLCs via a new GraphQL-to-Modbus bridge.

The project saved 70% of the expected timeline and eliminated the risk of "logic drift."

Frequently Asked Questions#

How does Replay handle proprietary industrial protocols?#

Replay focuses on the "Northbound" interface—the UI and UX logic. It generates API contracts that define what data the UI needs. Your integration team can then map these contracts to protocols like OPC-UA, MQTT, or Modbus, while Replay handles the complex frontend state logic.

Can Replay extract logic from low-resolution or monochrome screens?#

Yes. Replay’s AI Automation Suite is trained to recognize state changes even in legacy high-contrast, low-resolution, or character-based displays (like green-screen terminals). As long as a human can navigate it, Replay can document it.

What about business logic preservation?#

This is Replay's core strength. By using video as the source of truth, we capture exactly how the system reacts to inputs. This "Visual Trace" is converted into functional requirements and E2E tests, ensuring the modern version preserves every safety check and business rule present in the original system.

Is the generated code maintainable?#

Unlike "low-code" platforms that output spaghetti code, Replay generates clean, documented React components and TypeScript definitions. It follows your organization's architectural standards, making it a "Human-in-the-loop" tool rather than a black-box generator.

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Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay - see your legacy screen extracted live during the call.