#rugged linux tablet

Inhand Electronics Offers The Best Rugged Android Tablet and Military Rugged Tablet

Why a Rugged Tablet Must Have An IP67 Rating

Today, the rugged tablet is commonly used across sectors like manufacturing, oil and gas, healthcare, defense, energy/utilities and more. One key performance parameter in these environments is ingress protection (IP) rating – resistance to ingress of dust and water into the device. For business-critical operations, the best rule of thumb is to always err on the side of caution and choose a rugged tablet with at least an IP67 rating. Most companies will ask why this is the case, and the answer lies in an understanding of the IP rating system and what protection an IP67 rated device will bring.

Although we’ve discussed the importance of IP67 or IP68 rating for a rugged tablet, many businesses miss the importance of having a device that is purpose built and tested for this rating. Although many manufacturers of add-on protective outer cases say that their products will protect the average consumer-grade OEM Android tablet in the same way, that is only potentially true under narrowly defined parameters and may require user cooperation.

Revisiting the Practicality of IP Ratings

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the organization that sets the international standards and assessment for electrotechnology fields. The IEC ingress protection (IP) rating, governed by standard IEC 60529, is made up of the first digit which indicates its resistance to solids like dust, and a second digit that indicates its resistance to water. The higher the ratings numbers earned by a device the greater the ingress protection. A summary of the ingress protection ratings is located here.

In the IP rating, the solid ingress rating indicates the maximum diameter of solid particles that can enter the device. For example, a solid ingress rating of 4 indicates a maximum entry diameter of 1 mm – protection from large objects but no protection from dust and dirt particles that can enter the device at connection and seal points around screens and other areas. A rating of 6, the maximum, indicates complete protection against “harmful” dust or dirt seeping into the unit after being in direct contact with the matter for eight hours or more, under vacuum. Field service, manufacturing, and industrial environments will all naturally have a high degree of dust and dirt, so the high rating of 6 in the IP67 rating is a must have.

Modern healthcare utilizes a multitude of medical devices, including rugged Android tablets or rugged Linux tablets, for medical device monitoring, medical treatment, telehealth, electronic health record (EHR) access by caregivers, and much more. Increasingly, these medical devices are networked together, to remotely share information including electronic health records (EHR). With network connectivity, risks of data interception become a major concern. Securing Protected Health Information (PHI) data, whether on the device itself or during network transmission, through encryption is the best way to prevent data breaches. The scope of the data security problem can be seen in the 2019 HIMSS Cybersecurity Survey.

Medical devices usually incorporate custom-designed electronic circuitry or commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) single board computers, combined with an accompanying operating system. Increasingly, the medical device may be a custom tablet running either the Android or Linux operating system. These custom medical devices must meet stringent safety and ruggedness requirements, and additionally incorporate physical and data security. Such designs best accomplish all product specifications, as opposed to trying to make a COTS tablet rugged and secure via retrofit outer enclosures, circuit attachments, and application software running on top of a standard operating system.

Data encryption in healthcare settings use a combination of software and hardware methodologies. While most major mobile device manufacturers offer some form of hardware and software-based encryption, these devices are not necessarily suitable for the requirements of healthcare environments. Software solutions can dominate vital processor and memory resources which can impact device performance, particularly when the most powerful encryption and decryption methods are utilized.

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?