Tablet computing for Industrial applications
As tablet computing make a grand splash in the home & enterprise market, there will inevitably be curious and tech-savvy controls engineers and IT managers that will want to test operational capability for Industrial applications as well. Tablets though being cool, there is yet to be a good case made for them replacing laptops and PDAs on the market today. However, it is not always the product itself, but what you can do with it that will drive adoption. This means killer applications!
Just as useful applications are created for consumer and enterprise users, several applications will appear in both industrial automation and building automation. Custom displays and interactive control interfaces will face largest competition as tablets allow for a much cheaper and flexible solution.
Tablet computers are best suited for the following automation applications:
- Plant engineers using dashboard or monitoring applications while moving around a plant.
- Alarm management and resolution.
- Home automation applications as a universal home controller to monitor security systems, climate control, lighting and home theatre. Several companies such as AMX and Crestron have already announced compatibility of the iOS (iPhone, iPad) and Android platform based devices.
