After our journeys were complete at COMPUTEX Taipei 2010, we had a couple days to do the tourist thing before we embarked on our next adventure. This time around, we hopped on the tour bus and made our away around to three Taiwanese electronics companies: GETAC, who makes rugged computers, GIGA-TMS, who work on RFID technology, and Champtek, who also create products based on RFID technology. On these tours, we were able to go behind the scenes and see where these gadgets and other technology tidbits are designed and made.
Going Rugged with GETAC
There’s nothing wrong with the consumer-level notebooks and tablets that you’d get from a company like Asus, but they’re not at all suitable for the industrial environment. They’re shiny little wonders that need to be well protected.
For the more rough and tumble work environment of a construction site, military deployments, and other similar situations, you’ll want to turn to the products of GETAC Technology Corporation. These are designed from the beginning to be as rugged as possible, enduring all kinds of abuse.
So You Think You’re Tough, Eh?
GETAC (pronounced jee-tack, as far as we can tell) was founded in 1989 and got its start by producing military-spec products, largely for the US armed forces. It quickly discovered that other industries were interested in rugged gear too, so they expanded their portfolio accordingly. That’s not to say the products have necessarily changed all that much.
The GETAC A790 fully rugged notebook (shown above) has not had its chassis changed in over ten years. The motherboard and inner workings have been upgraded over time, but the outside case remains the same. And it’s tough as nails.
Other highlights include the GETAC B300 that offers up to 12 hours of computing on a single battery, plus a slot for a second hot-swappable battery. This results in a total of 24 hours without reaching for a wall outlet. That’s impressive. Even more impressive is the real world abuse these devices can take as shown in our exclusive video below…
You can see just how tough some of these GETAC products are. Go ahead and throw it on the ground. Go ahead and pour a bottle of water all over it. Go ahead and stomp on it to your heart’s delight. In the case of the fully rugged handheld PDA device, you can even dunk it completely underwater and it will continue to work.
The folks at GETAC realize that the Panasonic ToughBook remains the biggest dog in the yard when it comes to rugged computing, but they feel that they are very solid number two. In fact, they’re working hard on establishing their own brand and moving up to number one soon, thanks to innovations like thermal cooling (fanless design) and the “vertical” product portfolio.
GIGA-TMS Does POS (Point of Sale) and More
You probably aren’t too familiar with the GIGA-TMS name, but there is a very good chance that you have encountered at least a few of its products in the past. The product portfolio from GIGA-TMS spans smart labels, employee clocking equipment, point of sale terminals, and more. It’s actually quite impressive when you consider the amount of work that goes into making something like a cash register. You know that little display at the top of the point of sale machine? GIGA-TMS actually runs those through a burn-in test process that takes several days.
Testing equipment like this requires some creativity and they also have other interesting testing measures in place. Want to see how quickly a machine can read and process a barcode or an RFID tag? Stick a few of them on an old-school turntable and let them run wild. We saw more than one testing rig with this kind of configuration. We wondered if the place turned into a rave after hours.
It was also interesting to see some of the other RFID products, like smart badges, that allow employees to gain access to restricted areas, clock into their time sheets, and so on. Many of these were touchless, so they could be some distance away from the reader too.
Champtek Champions Active RFID Tech
It seems that RFID technology is slowly (but surely) on the rise and Champtek Inc. aims to be a leader in this industry. Interestingly enough, the company decided right from the get-go that it would only be interested in active RFID technology rather than passive RFID technology. This means that the RFID tags are actively broadcasting their information and need to have their batteries changed about every six months. About 10% of Champtek’s $30 million annual revenue comes from its RFID business. The remaining 90% is from its barcode scanners.
When we went to visit Champtek, they provided us with RFID bracelets. As we entered the main meeting room, our respective names appeared on the screen. This is because the reader in the room was able to pick up on the RFID tags. Each tag also had a red button, which allowed it to signal we had a question to ask, for example.
All of the core technology used by Champtek was developed in-house and it continues to expand its business. Working with passive RFID partners, for instance, it has started working on some passive RFID products.
Champtek is also the company responsible for the audio tours at the current Shanghai Expo. Users going to the different exhibits simply scan the tags and are given the appropriate tour information. It can also guide the visitor to the next exhibit. Similar technology can be used for inventory control and even sporting events where accurate time keeping is a must. You may see some of their technology in the Tour De France, allowing the commissaires to log the racers in easily.
Behind the Consumer Retail Experience
While these company tours didn’t bring us down the production line the same way that we were able to see during the Kingston Technology factory tour, or GIGABYTE Factory Tour, they nonetheless offered us a glimpse into how these companies function and how they churn out those wonderful toys that we see each and every day.
Be sure to check out the much larger image gallery (60+ pictures!) on the next page for a closer look at GETAC, GIGA-TMS, and Champtek. And of course, make sure you check out our YouTube COMPUTEX 2010 Playlist as well as the other COMPUTEX 2010 articles that we’ve written just for you.
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COMPUTEX 2010 Flashback – Touring the GETAC, GIGA-TMS, and Champtek Headquarters in Taiwan – Photo Gallery
