Ambient display for industrial operator consoles

An apparatus comprising:

• at least one processing device configured to:
• identify a current state of an industrial process or a control system associated with the industrial process;
• map the current state to one or more characteristics of ambient lighting;
• and
• present information associated with the industrial process and with the control system to an operator via at least one graphical display;
• and
• at least one light source controller configured to control one or more light sources associated with an ambient display comprising an edge-lit segment, the at least one light source controller configured to control the one or more light sources so that the ambient display generates the ambient lighting having the one or more characteristics based on the current state of the industrial process or the control system, the one or more light sources configured to generate light that illuminates one or more edges of the edge-lit segment.

A method comprising:

• displaying information associated with an industrial process and with a control system associated with the industrial process using at least one graphical display;
• identifying a current state of the industrial process or the control system;
• mapping the current state to one or more characteristics of ambient lighting;
• and
• generating the ambient lighting having the one or more characteristics based on the current state of the industrial process or the control system using an ambient display, the ambient display comprising an edge-lit segment and one or more light sources, the one or more light sources generating light that illuminates one or more edges of the edge-lit segment.