Android is a free and open source operating system based on Linux, mainly used in mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, led and developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. On September 24, 2013, the operating system Android developed by Google celebrated its 5th birthday, and the number of devices using this system in the world has reached 1 billion.
Obviously, the application of Android is concentrated on consumer electronic products such as mobile phones and tablet computers. Consumer electronics focus on individual user experience, feel, touch sensitivity, functionality (telephone, Internet, video, etc.). Industrial applications are quite different, with relatively rough appearance and single functional requirements. Only a specific function interface needs to be implemented, and 232, 485 or CAN interfaces need to be reserved to achieve stable control. The people who come into contact with these devices are nothing more than operators. From the touch point of view, most Android systems are equipped with capacitive screens and multi-touch.
In fact, in many cases, the capacitive screen cannot be used in industrial applications. The capacitive screen industry has poor anti-interference and poor oil resistance (the operator's hands are likely to have a lot of stains). Therefore, in terms of industrial control, if Android can be used, it is enough to have a resistive touch screen. From the perspective of hardware requirements, the requirements of Android are much higher than those of WinCE and Linux systems. That is to say, if the Android system is adopted in the industry, the hardware cost will be much higher. In addition, from the perspective of development cost, recruiting a java programmer is much more expensive than a configuration programmer (an ordinary electrician is fine). Numerous shortcomings lead to few people in the market to study the industrial application of Android.
Under many unfavorable conditions, there are still people who dare to research and develop Android to achieve real industrial control. In fact, Android is still a good operating system in I industry control. , Android is a new thing, just in terms of I industry control equipment, Chinese people like new things, from the point of view of one industry chain, customers' customers will definitely be greedy for freshness. Second, in terms of development, there are many Android RD personnel in China and people who understand Java development everywhere. What's more, Android industrial control equipment manufacturers have already done the necessary underlying drivers, interface calls, SDKs, etc.
Some intersecting industries, such as building intelligent control, smart home control, and public service equipment, can actually be developed based on the Android system, which can easily realize functions such as mobile phone control and monitoring, and easily realize integrated monitoring and control. Driven by these interests, many people will join the industrial control industry and invest in development.
Smartphones and tablets are entering the factory floor of I Factory, accepting work for data entry, equipment monitoring and system control. Therefore, many factory automation software providers have developed Android applications for monitoring and controlling industrial automation equipment. The trend towards IoT devices has also contributed to efforts to control and monitor remote devices.
The need for higher levels of manufacturing and machine reliability means that production and maintenance systems are hungry for data. In most cases, the best way to meet this need is through the use of real-time input from portable computing devices, and at the same time, many industrial automation application users are realizing the advantages of an Android-based PC. Android PCs are a lower-cost alternative to traditional Windows PCs for several reasons. Android computers usually include ARM processors, which are more cost-effective than Intel processors.
Additionally, Android industrial computers are not subject to the operating system license fees required for Windows-based computers. AndroidI PCs do not require the additional storage capacity and memory requirements required by Windows-based computers. The cost savings associated with these differences are driving the industrial automation industry toward Android-based computing.
The development of Android computing was accompanied by a group of Android software developers who took advantage of a simplified software development environment. Android developers can easily customize applications to fit unique I/O devices and create GUIs to manage any industrial application.
The mobility and device-agnostic aspects of the software underlie many new industrial automation infrastructure implementations. In addition, these devices can be linked with ERP and WMS systems and have diagnostic and preventive maintenance programs.
