May
28
Rugged industrial computers are designed to provide data collection in all kinds of weather and environments. When you think of the outdoor seasons and its weather, you’d come up with rain, snow, sleet, heat and bitter cold. Fixed or vehicle computers are required to take all that punishment. let’s look into each one;
- Rain, snow and sleet: The casing is sealed at various level of protection depending on its IP rating. That would include the display, keyboard and ports.
- Temperatures: Operating in the cold winters of Alaska, or a local freezer to the tropic outdoors of Puerto Rico, industrial computers can hold up to temperatures of -30 to +60 degrees centigrade.
- Thunder, hail, wind and other natural or man made noises can interfere in the operation of an vehicle mount computer. To compensate, ruggedized computer manufactures install high volume speakers.
- Sunlight is good for the garden but very difficult for outdoor PC operations. Fortunately, industrial hardware have display with anti-glare to enhance visibility.
Whatever the weather, rugged industrial computers meet the challenges of their environment.
photo credit: mehul.antani
May
27
Wireless Vehicle Computer in Warehouse
A summary on using a wireless vehicle computer with barcoding. Data collection is performed in many environments. Some of these environments require that information be collected while in a mobile location such as car, forklift, truck or just a cart. Of course some or most of these locations are not so PC friendly and would require a rugged industrial computer. Since the data is collected in a mobile fashion, the vehicle mount computer needs to be connected to a network for real time data collection. A wireless vehicle computer can have multiple real-time connections such as cellular (GSM and GPS) and WiFi.
WiFi connection enables the rugged mobile PC to act as a workstation on wheels. A prime example would be using the wireless vehicle computer in a warehouse operation. The interactive information exchange can be used for many WMS software functions:
- Receiving
- Putwaway
- Cross-docking
- Inventory maintenance
- Picking
- Shipping
- Inventory Count
As each functions is used, an operator can update the host main inventory data base with the latest product movements. With inventory being continually up-to-date, web purchasing can reflect the most current available products for sale.
May
26
No matter how you spell it, using bar code to collect information is one of the fastest and most accurate technology we can use. A barcode represents information that is static and usually derived from a data base. A good example would be the UPC label you see on all your products at a grocery store. The manufacturer has the product code in a data base. That information is printed on a label using a unique symbology (language that interprets spaces between the black and white lines). This in effects records the product code. When using a scanner, light is emitted unto the label and the decoding symbology provides an electronic translation into the collection device. This device can be an mobile data terminal held by a person or a vehicle mount computer mounted in a car or forklift.
In summary, barcoding is a solid and established means of data collection. It makes our lives much easier by providing the right information instantly and accurately.
May
26
Wireless data collection is performed using various enabling technologies. The components would consist of:
- a capturing and storing device such as a mobile data terminal, or vehicle mount computer(VMT), or a handheld computer such as a portable data terminal (PDT)
- Data scanning ability such as a barcode scanner
- Optionally, a RFID reader that would collect from RFID tags
- A means to move collected data from the mobile data terminal to the database. This can be as simple as a USB wired download, or a WiFi connection to the rugged industrial computer and a GSM connection to move data through a cellular network.
Wireless connectivity can also be interactive via an application that would add, update and interpret information from the mobile computer hardware. These real time mobile computer solutions would include warehouse management, material locator, item tracking, and many more. The true benefit of wireless data collection is the real time results being collected with the information at the point of origin. This makes the data most accurate and ultimately provides any user and their community with excellent services.
photo credit: myuibe
May
25
Information is all around us. It is in the form of sight (pictures), sound (music), and hand written or printed (paper media). People absorb or interface with information through communications such as television, radio, telephone, books (published media), and now more commonly through the internet. The process of taking information from its pure form into electronic format is called data collection.
Over the years, many technologies have been invented for the capture, processing and dissemination of information. Our most dominant tool today is the Internet. But how did all that data get into a data base, how and where was it collected, what are the computations and formatting performed ? In these series of posts, I will address the various technologies used to capture information in a fixed and mobile environments. My discussions on data collection will focus on industries such manufacturing, health care, oil exploration, transportation, mobile services, logistics and supply chain.
Topics of discussion will be:
- Barcode, barcoding, or bar code (many ways of saying the same thing)
- RFID (radio frequency identification) and RFID applications
- Wireless mobile computing
- Portable data collection (batch mode)
- Shop floor data collection
- Various industrial devices for data capture such as mobile data terminals, forklift computers, small industrial PCs, and vehicle computers
Read more about each data collection method and its associated industries in my posts.
photo credit: Unhindered by Talent
May
24
After the inaugural release of the Percon Phoenix104 (like rising from the ashes) mobile data terminals, we plan on subsequent release of two new industrial computers with 12.1” and 6.4” displays. Although it appears that screen sizes are just the changes, we are addressing our ability to manufacture according to requested configuration(s). The Percon goal is to “right-size” the VMT to the customers’ needs and to provide a rugged terminal with JUST the required features at the right price. …. “kind of like Dell”
Longer term plans include a portable rugged tablet… essentially a mobile data computer that is not limited to a vehicle mount computer application. That will open opportunities in more industries.
Mobile Datata Computer and Bar coding
May
24
Forklift computers are industrial computers designed and manufactured to withstand the constant shock and pounding of a rough terrain vehicle such as a forklift. Operations of a forklift in a warehouse or material movement of a manufacturing plant require a vehicle computer device that can operate effectively and last years without continuous repairs.
It may seem inappropriate for a computer to reside and operate in industrial conditions but data capture for automation requires information for be collected at the point of its origin. That would be applications such as receipt of goods, movement of goods to a locations, picking items for shipment or for manufacturing staging. Each of these operations may require scanning of a barcode or reading an RFID tag to record movement of material to the company’s MRP or SCM systems.
photo credit: Matija Grguric
Mar
01
Which industries does Percon plan to concentrate in? Where does our vehicle mount computer product(s) fit?
Our initial target and plan is ‘stick” with what we know best; supply chain logistics in manufacturing and wholesale trade. We are also planning on penetrating transportation, oil production, and public safety. In reality, the need of our partners and the clients’ demand will dictate the direction of our product. But our marketing focus will be within the industries mentioned.
photo credit: Pimento Of Doom
Mar
01
Why build another vehicle mount computer (VMT)? Motorola, LXE, Psion, AML are already a big player. You’ll have too much competition!
That’s a good question that most of our prospects, integrators and resellers are asking us. The answer is two-fold:
- Today’s big players do provide vehicle mounted computers but they are a “step-child” to their product line. The vehicle computer projects do not get the get the funding and resources that the PDTs projects do. The result is that the industrial vehicle computers (VMTs) are generally behind in technology (few and slow upgrades) or the VMT offering is an OEM. There is just a three US manufacturers that produce VMTs as their primary product and the majority of their sale is direct.
- We did our homework when we did the marketing research in the viability of starting a Vehicle Mounted Computer manufacturing company. Venture Development Corporation (VDC) also supplied us with solid industry financial and competitive data. The Reader’s Digest version is: VMTs’ are a $250 Million market with a CAGR of 7%. That offers Percon a great opportunity. We are not looking to be a multi billion dollars conglomerate. We’ll be VERY happy with 5% of the market and we plan to get there one rugged computer at a time!
Our vehicle mount computer products can be reviewed on our website.
photo credit: Metro Centric
Mar
01
Percon is a separate manufacturing/engineering company and we are not related to Datalogic.
PSC purchased Percon in 2000? And the Percon products and employees were merged into PSC. Percon ceased to exist. Datalogic purchased PSC couple years ago and now operate as Datalogic Scanning and Datalogic Mobile.
However, Percon has a great history in AIDC. It is a name associated with quality products and excellent service. We are committed to continuing that tradition.
Another thing we all have in common is that we’re from Eugene Oregon!
photo credit: jontunn
