Sept/Oct 2005

A Windows CE-based ruggedised vehicle-mounted computer has been announced by Advantech, the Taiwanese-based global giant in Web technologies and mobile and embedded computing.

Features of the TREK-725 include a built-in GPS module for navigation and tracking applications, and optional GSM/GPRS and wireless LAN modules for real-time communications. There is also a built-in CANbus (Controller Area Network bus) capability, allowing the device to serve as the standard input/output interface for data transfer within vehicles.

The company says the device is ideal for what it terms 'light-duty computing tasks' for industrial vehicles such as chemical trucks, oil tankers and fire engines. It comes in a sealed aluminium housing, and is said to meet the high IP65 rating for water and dust ingress.

On the technical front, the device runs under Powered Microsoft Windows CE 5.0.NET, and has a fast Intel XScale IXP420 533 MHz processor. There is 10.4 inch TFT LCD with resistive touch screen. Six programmable function keys and six hot keys are provided on each side of the LCD screen to provide user-friendly access for common functions

The arrival of a new dedicated vehicle-mounted device such as this underlines the point that suppliers still detect a demand for this type of device, despite the fact growing numbers of operators have adopted PDAs and ruggedised handheld computers for mobile computing purposes. Advantech is helped by the fact that it already produces truck-mounted computers for fork-lift trucks and similar devices, and has therefore been able to draw on proven technology.