Rugged computers
and computers together allows sales, service
Remote management
and delivery workers to provide customers with Using wireless LANs to track warehouse and
the documentation they desire, while creating factory assets is an example of how a main-
an electronic record that frees the enterprise stream IT resource has been adapted to benefi t
from having to process paperwork manually. industrial environments. Another example is
Mobile printers remain one of the fastest- powerful remote management systems which
growing segments of the entire printing indus- have been developed specifi cally to confi gure,
try. Traditional applications are in fi eld service monitor and troubleshoot barcode readers
and distribution, but adoption is growing and printers, RFID equipment, ruggedized
quickly in warehouses and factories for forklift- computers and other industrial data collection
based printing for picking, put-away, shipment and communications equipment.
labelling and other activities. Mobile printing Network administrators have typically had
provides proven labour savings in industrial en- little visibility or control over these remote de-
vironments by saving workers from having to vices because enterprise IT asset and network
make an unproductive trip to a central location management systems are made for common
to pick up labels, tickets, manifests and other PCs, servers, and network equipment and do
output. not address the confi gurations and usage condi- This handheld device by Intermec has a
tions specifi c to data collection and computing scanning engine which can read barcodes
Real-time location in industrial environments. from up to 15 metres away
With real time location systems (RTLS), busi-
nesses can expand their wireless local area System security Beyond the offi ce door
network into an asset tracking system. An im- Stronger security is another mainstream require- Developments in mobile computing, wireless
portant market driver is the Wireless Location ment that is supported in supply chain technol- communication, RFID, barcode and other
Appliance from Cisco Systems, which enables ogy. Mobile computers can be locked down so data collection and communications technolo-
asset tracking through a Cisco wireless LAN. that customer information and other data can- gies are helping businesses extend visibility and
Any device connected to the wireless LAN can not be accessed if the device is lost or stolen. control over more areas of their operations.
be tracked and located. Rugged wireless computers and data collec- Business needs for security, real-time visibil-
One application is to track forklifts via their tion equipment also support many of the lead- ity and up-to-date information do not stop at
vehicle-mounted computer’s radio. Th e Wireless ing security standards used to protect enterprise the offi ce door. Th ese needs extend throughout
Location Appliance and supporting software can wireless networks, including 802.11i, 802.1x, supply chain operations, and so reliable infor-
track the radio’s location in real time to support WPA, WPA2, LEAP, FIPS-140, Radius servers mation systems must extend just as far.
effi cient dynamic storage and routeing, moni- and VPNs. Wireless data collection devices that Without a doubt, mobile computing solutions
tor dwell time and gather data for productivity support Cisco Compatible Extensions (CCX) have now become an integral part of the supply
and asset utilization analysis. Many other expen- can be fully included in a Cisco Unifi ed Wire- chain operations, with organizations benefi ting
sive products and assets can be equipped with a less Network and take advantage of all the asso- from improvement to their production, distribu-
RTLS device for real-time monitoring. ciated management, reliability and security fea- tion service and other supply chain operations.
tures, including hacker and rogue access point
Tracking assets in a warehouse – mainstream detection, authentication and encryption and • Andy Sharkey is EMEA northern regional gen-
IT adapted to an industrial environment integrated fi rewalls. eral manager, Intermec
LAND mobile October 2009 39
337-39 Rugged Computers.indd 397-39 Rugged Computers.indd 39 221/10/09 16:35:491/10/09 16:35:49
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