EPN Industrial Automation Blog

More Panel-PCs for the UK

After a rather long dry spell, the British industry is receiving interest again from foreign suppliers and producers. Germany-based input specialist Hoffmann+Krippner expands its UK operations with a new company in order to deliver customizable Panel-PCs.

embedded world 2011: The industrial touch

Ruggedized touch panel computers can serve as control front ends for industrial networking systems. However, the usually delicate touch screens have to withstand all kinds of mistreatment.

Glass with an edge

Astonishingly, many of the requirements for embedded computers in extremely dirty and rough industrial environments are quite similar to those in ultra-hygienic applications. With this in mind it's manifest to serve those different markets with only one design.

Home Automation vs. burglars

While large companies can afford enormous budgets for sophisticated security and alarm equipment including the corresponding personnel, smaller businesses often have just as much to protect but not as much money. So, why not use the building/home automation network together with a comparatively simple intrusion alarm?

Sunshine on my display

You may have experienced the disappointingly poor quality of the visual experience on your mobile devices — particularly when it comes to watching a movie, mobile TV or still pictures. While this is just an inconvenience, it can become a safety-critical issue on handheld terminals for field operation in industrial applications. Even with the advancements being made in mobile display technology, they still fall short in terms of adequate contrast ratio for viewing high quality multimedia content. Reflecting sunshine can make this experience even worse. The fundamental problem can be summarized in two four-letter-words. In order to avoid heart attacks while trying to read the information on a floodlit display, QuickLogic has signed an agreement with German, Munich-based, Data Display to bring VEE to industrial and digital signage applications.

Volcano hits Hanover

Despite the obstacles the Icelandic volcano at the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier is causing in the international aviation, the organizer has opened the world leading showcase for industrial technology HANNOVER MESSE 2010 on Sunday as planned.

One-hand motion

The T20, newest member of Keba’s KeTop product family of operating terminals is supposed to ensure maximum freedom of movement by means of one-hand operation. The device can be fitted with a variety of operating elements such as key switches, push buttons, hand wheels, potentiometers, or axis selection switches and can thus be adapted to every application. Target applications are control, teaching and visualization.