A complete range of rugged, industrial mobile computing solutions are now available in Europe from M.A.C Solutions (UK) Ltd.
The VT (vehicle mount terminal) and HT (handheld terminal) series are designed and manufactured by Darveen and are currently available throughout Europe and the UK from sole agent M.A.C Solutions (UK) Ltd.
The terminals are the result of a focused development aimed specifically at fulfilling the increasing requirement for PC functionality in very harsh mobile environments. Darveen has installed its products in numerous industrial and commercial applications in areas such as ports and harbour authorities, airports, warehousing and quarries, involving applications as diverse as satellite navigation, vehicle cameras, vehicle tracking, monitoring and logistics control, connecting everything in a warehouse/harbour side including forklifts, cranes, trucks and containers - providing all the data that the MES (manufacturing execution system) needs.
In addition, the terminals are used in special purpose vehicles (ambulance, fire, police, refuse collection and buses, etc.), as well as agricultural, quarrying, construction and road care machinery. In fact, any application in which an air sprung seat is provided for the operator, a Darveen product is designed to sit next to him or her.
As well as providing high accuracy navigation, the VT range also enables real time wireless communication between the vehicle and a central control system or data centre. In addition, the terminals can be used for other office-type functions to record data and emergency events, or to monitor conditions on the vehicle.
The VT range includes 7 different models. The largest model is the VT-835, which has a 12.1" TFT LCD touchscreen display and an Intel Atom N450 (1.66GHz) processor. The smallest model currently available is the VT-533, which has a 5.7" panel with touchscreen and a Marvell PXA270 (520MHz) processor.
All VT terminals are protected by a rugged aluminium enclosure. This special fanless design requires no ventilation holes in the back, front and side panels, which provides the unit with a high degree of protection (IP65) from ingress of dust and water. The VT range also benefits from enhanced shock and vibration resistance. The VT also provides flexible expansion capabilities for WiFi, GPS, WCDMA/EDGE/GPRS, and BT.
Depending on the model chosen, the VT offers a wide input voltage range (8~58VDC) and operating temperatures (-30 deg C up to +65 deg C). A wide variety of flexible mounting kits (to VESA Standards) are available for the VT range, including RAM mounts and cradles. A variety of optional accessories are also available such as antennas, DC power adapters, industrial keyboards, RFID readers, barcode scanners and printers.
The HT range of handheld terminals also comprises 7 models, the largest comes with a 3.5" TFT LCD display (HT-318), down to the smallest, the HT-218, which has a 2.8" display. Designed as a compact, handheld mobile terminal, the HT-318 is suitable for harsh industrial and retail environments, including warehousing, logistics, manufacturing, harbours and ports, airports and other local area mobile computing applications. The HT-318 can withstand a 1.5 metre drop onto concrete and is protected to IP65.
The HT range is equipped with a Marvell PXA270, 520MHz processor and is pre-installed with the Windows CE 5.0 operating system. An optional 1-D, 2-D barcode scanner is also available, which enables users to collect data efficiently and to communicate with back-end host data servers wirelessly via Bluetooth or 802.11b/g.
Dennis Price, Product Manager at M.A.C Solutions comments: "M.A.C Solutions is delighted to have been chosen as UK and European agent for Darveen's VT and HT ranges. As mobile computing solutions, the VT and HT terminals complement M.A.C Solutions' own portfolio of open connectivity products very well and we expect the market to show a great deal of interest in these products over the coming months."