July 2020

VIA Technologies, Inc. announced the launch of the VIA Mobile360 AI Forklift Safety Kit to prevent accidents and avoid losses from damage to goods in busy warehouses and supply chain hubs. With it real-time 360° SVS (Surround View System) video and DMOD (Dynamic Moving Object Detection) capabilities, the kit enables forklift operators to identify potential safety hazard threats in time to take appropriate action to avert a collision. [See VIA media release]

Zebra reports Q2 2020 financial results
Zebra Technologies reported sales of US$956 million for Q2, 2020, down from US$1,097 million a year ago. Operating income for Q2 2020 was US$119 million, down from US$160 million for Q2 2019. “We believe our sales bottomed in Q2 and second half trends will improve. We continue to be very optimistic regarding our longer-term prospects as secular trends to digitize and automate workflows accelerate as a result of the pandemic,” said Anders Gustafsson, chief executive officer of Zebra Technologies. [See Zebra Q2 2020 financials] -- Posted Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Zebra Technologies to acquire Reflexis Systems, Inc.
Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA), an innovator at the front line of business with solutions and partners that deliver a performance edge, today announced it intends to acquire Reflexis Systems, Inc., a privately-held, leading provider of intelligent workforce management, execution, and communication solutions for organizations in the retail, food service, hospitality and banking industries. [See Zebra media release] -- Posted Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Full review: Panasonic TOUGHBOOK A3
With the TOUGHBOOK A3, Panasonic offers a compelling Android tablet solution in the 10-inch class. The A3 is thin enough and light enough to go anywhere, and it offers the extra onboard connectivity and display real estate that may be required on the job even with Android-based applications. The tablet provides the toughness and ruggedness Panasonic mobile computers have long been known for. Suitable for handheld tablet use or mounted in forklifts or any other vehicle, the TOUGHBOOK A3 combines Android ease-of-use with enterprise grade functionality, performance, and security. [See full review of the Panasonic TOUGHBOOK A3] -- Posted Monday, July 20, 2020

FLIR Systems announces Hadron, industry's first thermal and visible sensor module for drone, robotic, and imaging manufacturers
FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced FLIR Hadron™, the industry's first dual sensor module for drone, robotic, and imaging original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Designed to help reduce development costs and improve time-to-market, the lightweight, low power, and compact form factor includes a 12-megapixel visible camera paired with the FLIR Boson® 320x240 resolution thermal camera with up to a 60-hertz framerate. [See FLIR media release] -- Posted Sunday, July 19, 2020

Full review: Getac B360 fully rugged laptop
Rugged computing pretty much began with rugged laptops a quarter of a century ago. And even today, with all the billions of smartphones and handhelds and tablets, there are still many jobs where only a fully rugged full-size laptop computer will do. RuggedPCReview examined, in detail, the newest such laptop, the Getac B360. Slimmer, lighter and much more powerful than ever before, the Getac B360 has set a new standard of excellence and innovation in this class. [See review of the Getac B360 fully rugged laptop] -- Posted Tuesday, July 14, 2020

OnLogic's 3 Article Edge Computing Crash Course
"Edge computing" refers to processing that is done at or near the source of collected data instead of relying on the cloud or a remote data center. The folks at OnLogic have posted three great introductory articles on edge computing: They are "How to find the Best Edge Computer — The Three Types of Edge Computers," "Differences in Edge Computing Hardware — Six Characteristics you Need to Know," and "What is AMD Embedded, and Why Now?" -- Posted Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Janam unveils most affordable temperature sensing kiosk
Janam Technologies LLC, a leading provider of rugged mobile computers and contactless access solutions, today unveiled the newest addition to its Guardian family of access management hardware solutions. With advanced thermal imaging and facial recognition technology, GT2 is an extremely affordable and easy-to-deploy temperature sensing kiosk that quickly and accurately reads the body temperature and confirms the identity of individuals entering a facility. [See Janam media release] -- Posted Wednesday, July 1, 2020