HARTING's MICA ruggedised computer now available

The HARTING MICA ruggedised computer provides a platform for system integrators and software developers who need to deploy bespoke software applications to manage systems. It uses a LINUX operating system to provide a secure, stand-alone infrastructure needed in industrial and other demanding applications.

MICA is installed in the ‘Rinspeed Etos’ concept car displayed on the HARTING stand (visited by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkal and President of United States of America, Barack Obama) during the Hannover Messe event in April. The car was also displayed at the Geneva motor show in March to great acclaim.

Rinspeed uses a HARTING MICA for emissions and status monitoring. The Rinspeed Etos then transmits this data gathered by the MICA device to a neutral 3rd-Party (Dekra), for independent analysis. This illustrates how the Internet of Things could be used more widely in the future to monitor and evaluate emissions and performance data in real-world driving conditions. This same technique could also be applied to a range of other industrial and logistical equipment to help monitor performance and maintenance.

Gavin Stoppel, Product and Applications Manager at HARTING UK, said; “Companies deploying large scale automation solutions using ‘Industrial Internet of Things’ networks and distributed control systems need this type of device. Ruggedised computers are a key element in delivery of Industry 4.0, and since we showed MICA at ‘Drives and Controls’ we have had a lot of interest in it from companies working on various applications, especially RFID and performance monitoring.”