How Rugged Tablets Will Drive Edge Computing Across Industry Sectors

End users have made it clear that an industrial tablet must be a conduit for advancing data transmission and processing technologies rather than an impediment. According to Statista, IoT spending by discrete manufacturing, transportation and logistics, healthcare, and energy will quadruple in 2020 from 2015 levels. These sectors are all relying on big data, IoT sensors, analytics and more to refine processes beyond the edge of the network, which has given rise to edge computing.

The rugged Android tablet is fast becoming a critical link in realizing that data processing and access shift in real time. Custom tablets for IoT use is a driver of that trend. To understand how that’s true, we need a basic understanding of edge computing and how it affects countless industries.

What is Edge Computing?

Edge computing is all about processing data at the edge of the network nearest the source of the data. This reduces the costs, time delays, network bandwidth needs, and latency that comes with processing data through central data centers. The idea is to leverage resources that may not be continuously connected to a network, which is where an industrial Android tablet comes in.

Moving computing closer to the edge of the network allows companies to process data and analyze it dynamically in real time. Data analytics is being leveraged by numerous sectors to make real time productivity, performance, and cost decisions. This has real-world ramifications when these sectors face the limits imposed by network connectivity and latency issues.

Overcoming Network Connectivity and Data Latency Challenges

It’s clear that IoT sensors used in various sectors can provide valuable information for making critical decisions. But to make the most of that sensor data they need the power of edge computing and an industrial tablet to make it viable for many sectors and in many settings.

Network connectivity in the field isn’t always reliable, which could render cloud solutions unworkable, and lead to costly downtime. This is true from the heart of a smart city to the remote oil fields of energy producers and in-transit fleets and their goods in the manufacturing supply chain among others that all rely on rugged tablets.

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The Importance of Rugged Tablet Features and Medical Treatment

It’s becoming increasingly clear in the healthcare industry that the use of rugged tablets must have similar characteristics as other medical instrumentation used in medical care. In essence, it must be capable of acting with the same safeguards and functionality as any other medical device. Consequently, the features of an efficient and reliable medical grade tablet must be geared to the needs of the healthcare environment where it will be part of the instrument chain providing patient care.

Industrial Android tablets have become a staple in healthcare for things like medication alerts and tracking, Electronic Health Record (EHR) support, blood pressure monitoring, among others. While these uses have an ancillary relationship to patient outcomes, they do not provide direct medical function to healthcare providers or patients as a medical device. That is changing fast due to the evolution of purpose-built tablet designs that adhere to FDA, Medical Device Directive 60601, and ISO 13485 regulations.

For example, tablets that interface directly with medical devices to perform medical treatment procedures are required to be capable of adhering to stringent FDA regulations. Many medical devices now have the ability to connect to, communicate with, and operate other medical devices or systems, particularly treatment devices, which makes these connecting devices medical devices in the eyes of the FDA.

Devices that are already FDA approved or cleared are being updated to add digital features. New types of devices that already have these capabilities are being explored. Today’s devices are designed to work with complex software and provide interface ability with next generation medical devices to provide direct patient diagnosis and treatment.

This includes uses as direct interfaces via software for glucose meters, infusion pumps, and as critical displays of radiological images as just three examples. Adding application-specific capabilities, such as specifically calibrated displays, often customized secure wireless connections, and tethered medical instruments enable a medical grade tablet for safe and reliable medical treatment, such as monitoring and changing critical fluid intake and body functions or guided medical procedures.

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Rugged Tablets And Portable Devices: Solutions For Your Commercial Needs

Rugged tablets and portable devices offer an extensive number of solutions across a broad range of commercial and industrial needs.

Whereas consumer-grade mobile devices are well-suited to everyday use in homes, schools, and offices, rugged tablets are especially designed for harsh and demanding environments. The number of trades and professions where rugged tablets and portable devices are required are considerable, including:

• Medical devices
• Military, government, security, and law enforcement
• Energy, oil, and gas (including in explosive environments requiring intrinsically safe circuitry)
• Instrumentation, test, and measurement
• Logistics and transportation (including automotive, locomotive, marine, and aviation)
• Construction and trades
• Manufacturing
• Agriculture

Electronic devices deployed by these industries share a number of characteristics that influence device design. They must:

• Withstand and fully operate through prolonged vibrations, accidental drops, and direct impact to each side edge of the device
• Be impervious to dust, dirty, water, and other liquid contaminates
• Operate over extreme temperatures, in very hot and very cold environments
• Often be used in direct sunlight or extreme darkness, requiring displays that can easily be read and controlled for these light levels
• Often be operated with thick gloves, which typically requires specialized touchscreens
• Sometimes require custom equipment interfaces that are not integrated into common consumer tablet devices
• Be certified to meet operational and safety requirements within specific industries
• Be available for purchase in a constant known configuration for many years, to ensure they continue to meet certifications

View Original Source:- https://www.inhand.com/rugged-tablets-and-portable-devices-solutions-for-your-commercial-needs/

Military use of COTS Android Devices – bad idea!

There is no doubt that leveraging the technologies that a soldier is comfortable using makes sense. We are all accustomed to having our cell phones and tablets with us at all times, providing us the key information we need to accomplish our tasks. Why shouldn’t our military service personnel have the same capabilities? They should! But…does it make sense to have them use consumer rated devices for their mission. No!

The military’s mission is quite unique. The men and women that rely on technology to accomplish their military missions are exposed to very different environments that the rest of us going about our normal day. These impact both the soldiers and their equipment. Some are obvious, such as environmental concerns- jolting shock and vibration, extreme temperatures (both frigid and desert), dust and sand, wet and humid, and salt exposure from seawater, all of which can quickly damage an unsealed device. Touchscreens often fail when used with gloved hands. While a consumer grade Android tablet or phone may work in 80% of soldier environments, that isn’t good enough. Soldiers need to know that they can rely on their portable devices anytime, anywhere.

Perhaps more importantly, recent articles have described security vulnerabilities in consumer Android devices and apps installed on them. These vulnerabilities can expose a soldier’s position, and therefore endanger the soldier’s life and the mission.

A common practice, as described in an article written by Susan Crabtree for The Washington Free Beacon titled, “Cybersecurity Experts: Stop Sending Troops Into Combat With Personal Tablets, Smartphones,” is for soldiers to upload military apps to their smartphones and tablets for use in the field. Some mapping applications installed on these devices have vulnerabilities that allow them to be hacked.

View Original Source:- https://www.inhand.com/military-use-of-cots-android-devices-bad-idea/

Planning a Rugged Mobile Device Development

While Return on Investment (ROI) is a major consideration when choosing a rugged Android tablet to be used in the field, calculating that ROI must take into account the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of the device. An off the shelf tablet may seem to have an attractive price point, but shortcomings such as functionality, ingress protection (IP) rating, ruggedness, usability, and lack of long term availability can significantly skew the ROI and TCO calculation for an off-the shelf vs. a custom tablet design. Considerations like TCO and ROI often involve nonobvious considerations.

Rugged must be designed for use in industry-specific environments by providing users with the right tools, access and user experience from the device to the application. That means starting with a detailed and well explored understanding of user needs, tablet use cases, and the environment of deployment.

Development Process Considerations

Computing power, OS, interoperability, connectivity and application compatibility must be determined through the lens of who, where, when and, how the device will be used. For example, companies must consider the changes in OS that are happening such as the rise of Android and the decline of Microsoft OS in mobile devices other than laptops. This was the focus of a recent Information Age articlediscussing Microsoft’s announcement of stopping support for Windows 10 Mobile this year (2018).

This has led to Android becoming the top contender for an operating system compatible with the rugged environment. But there are many other questions that a business must ask to develop a sound rugged device development roadmap.

• How where and when do you plan to use the rugged devices?
• Which business operations must they support?
• What features and applications must it support?
• What unique interfaces and equipment are required to meet the application?
• How much control is required over the configuration and updates of the operating system and application software?
• What are the connectivity and wireless access needs?
• What are the security concerns and requirements?
• What are the timetables for needed use and how does that intersect with the development timeline?
• Must the software environment be modified to meet application and regulatory requirements?
• What industry, safety, and government regulations and certifications are required, and how do these requirements impact the design and implementation of the device?

View Original Source:- https://www.inhand.com/planning-rugged-mobile-device-development/

The Importance of Rugged Tablets in the Manufacturing Supply Chain

Today, every manufacturing sector deals with an extremely broad supply chain that is often global and often deals with a lack of reliable, real-time data access in the field. This inherent lack of end-to-end integration can be partially bridged by technologies such as cloud-based software access, RFID, IoT and others. Having the ability to access the data from these technologies in real-time in the field requires a portable connected device such as a rugged tablet to deliver that reliable end-to-end integration under the most difficult conditions.

The challenges don’t end there as supply chain mobile device longevity is a pressing concern in the majority of manufacturing sectors where use routinely happens under punishing conditions. Deploying a mobile device for industrial use requires significant development, test, and often certification testing. Once complete, the resulting device must be capable of being built and deployed over the long term to avoid expensive redesign and retest. Oil & gas, mining, and the broader energy industry are just three major examples where managing assets in the field requires a device capable of delivering real-time access in harsh environments to make production and operations efficient and cost effective.

From drill sites to fleet transportation and all points in between, managing assets for oil and gas, mining and the broader energy production industries requires around-the-clock access to real-time information resources, and an industrial Android tablet must be able to perform under harsh conditions like extreme heat and cold as well as punishing physical environments.

View Original Source:- https://www.inhand.com/importance-rugged-tablets-manufacturing-supply-chain/

Basic Principles Of Handheld Mobile Device Design

Tablets (tablet computers) and similar handheld mobile devices such as smartphones and e-readers are now increasingly in use both for the mainstream public as well as throughout industry. Custom mobile electronic devices are often designed and deployed for specific field applications. These devices have overlap in their features and capabilities. Understanding the principles and features of handheld mobile device design is critical for successful deployment.

In preparation for designing a new handheld mobile device, it is important to analyze the requirements of the user as well as the unique use cases of the device within its specialized niche. Beyond portability, what are the requirements of a handheld tablet device design?

The fundamental goal for a handheld computing device is to merge a good user experience (UX) with the features and design characteristics that easily enable its application use while operating in difficult environments. Handheld mobile devices commonly feature a display, touchscreen and/or buttons for user interaction, a battery, a rugged enclosure, and often wireless communications or ports for plugging in cables that allow for external communications. These elements must be integrated together in a way that enables functionality without being too heavy or bulky.

Some further details to consider include the following:

Miniature screens designed with the user in mind: The small-sized screens must fulfill a number of criteria, which focus on the hand, finger, and eye. This means:

• All text must be easily read and all images and video must be easily viewed over a broad range of lighting conditions, from pitch black through indoor lighting levels, and often in direct sunlight.
• Touchscreens must correctly detect touches and swipes whether by bare or gloved fingers, in dry and wet environments.

Peripherals that do the job: Each device is designed for a purpose, perhaps to sense its environment or to communicate information with a remote server. The mobile device must include the proper circuitry and interfaces to enable the application, and be seamlessly integrated electrically, mechanically, and with supporting software.

View Original Source:- https://www.inhand.com/basic-principles-handheld-mobile-device-design/

Contact Details:

InHand Electronics, Inc.
30 West Gude Dr. Suite 550
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone No. : 240-558-2014
Web : https://www.inhand.com/
Email : rfeldman@inhand.com