News

WEROCK’s Rugged HMI Withstands Drops, Vibrations, and Extreme Temperatures

April 13, 2021 by Seth Price

WEROCK developed an industry-ready tablet for rugged and dirty environments.

These rugged tablets act as a human-machine interface (HMI) so technicians can perform maintenance and equipment monitoring. 

 

werock rugged tablet

WEROCK rugged tablet is water-resistant.  Image used courtesy of WEROCK

 

WEROCK designs rugged IT and computing systems for industrial plants, first-responders, utility companies, and transport and logistics companies. Their IT solutions have found their way into the hands of medical professionals for ease of collecting vital information from multiple patients, as well as into the hands of linemen as they diagnose and repair power outages.


 

HMI Ultra and Light Lines

There are three current models available: U212, U214, and L110. The first two are part of the Ultra line, and the L110 is the first model in their Light line. 

They plan on releasing a Standard line in the near future, which will strike a balance in features between the Ultra and Light lines. The table below shows a comparison of the specifications for the three models.

 

  U212 U214 L110
Screen Size 11.6" (29.5 cm) 13.3" (33.8 cm) 10.1" (25.7 cm)
Battery Life 91 Wh (10 hours) 76 Wh (14 hours) 37 Wh (10 hours)
Processor Options Intel i5 Intel Core i5TM 8th
Gen Quad-Core
CPU (3.9 GHz)

Intel Atom x5-Z8350
Quad-Core (1.92 GHz)
Intel Celeron N4100
Quad-Core (2.4 GHz)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
Octa-Core (2.2 GHz)

Ports 1xUSB 2.0
1xUSB C
microSD
1xUSB 3.1
1xUSB C
microSD
4xUSB 3.1
1xUSB C
microSD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1: Comparison of specifications

 

Rugged Features

There are some other differences between the three available models. Regardless of the model, all tablets are sealed to IP65, resist drops of up to 1.8 meters (5.9 ft), and pass U.S. Military Standards (MIL-STD) 810. The enclosure rating means it’s “dust tight” and water-resistant for rain and nozzle sprays. They cannot be immersed but will not stop working in heavy rain. 

MIL-STD 810 tests tablets against drops, vibration, and extreme temperatures. For these tablets to pass MIL-STD 810, they must endure temperatures from -21 ℃ to 60 ℃ (-5.8 ℉ to 140 ℉), which can be quite a challenge, as many plastics become brittle at low temperatures, and heat dissipation from processors is much slower at high temperatures.

 

werock rocktab

WEROCK HMI. Image used courtesy of WEROCK

 

Another feature of these tablets is their brightness under sunlight. Standard tablets and laptops can be difficult to read under the bright sun. These tablets have a brightness of 400 cd/m2, or approximately twice as bright as the standard laptop screen. 

Additionally, these tablets have hot-swappable batteries. Should the battery start to die, an operator can drop one battery and replace it with the next one without shutting down or potentially losing data. This is a great advantage in the field, where a technician might need to perform a multiple-hour operation and would not want to lose their place part of the way through the operation because of a dead battery.

 

Applications

These tablets could see use in the refining industry, where refinery technicians need to walk around an outdoor facility to collect data and perform maintenance tasks. Because the tablets are durable enough to withstand an occasional drop, a wide range of temperatures, and rain, they are suitable for technicians roaming around a large refinery.

The WEROCK tablets aim to be rugged and versatile enough for most industrial and commercial environments and may see their way into the hands of many technicians. Whether they are vehicle-mounted for a municipal water representative to collect water meter data or in the hands of appliance repair technicians to troubleshoot, the long battery life, hot-swappable capabilities, and readability can be useful. The ruggedness and resistance to water and dust may mean fewer repairs and replacements, as well.