Rugged Computer System (RCS)
What is it?
Compared with a normal desk PC, a Rugged Computer System (RCS) requires a higher level of endurance for its operational environment – many RCS are required to be used in environments with a high level of moisture, dust or direct sunlight. As a result, the manufacturing of an RCS follows strict industrial standards, from the design to the product verification stage.
Multiple certifications are required to ensure the RCS is guaranteed to work under certain conditions – including being waterproof, dustproof, impact proof and protected against sunlight.
Why do you need it?
An RCS is suitable for operating conditions (either outdoors or indoors) where a normal PC would probably be damaged. A RCS does not necessary need to be able to provide high performance, but more important to the user is the product’s stability, longevity and product lifespan / support.
Several situations where a RCS would be necessary include:
1. In the transportation industry, railway operators usually require a RCS for the digital timetable / schedule display. In this case, the RCS requires EMI-protection from the swaying train power lines located nearby which can cause glitches.
2. In the oil, gas or mining industries, operations are often conducted in environments with extremely high temperatures (the oil fields of the Middle East or underground mines in South America can easily reach 50 degrees Celsius) extremely low temperatures (sites in Russia or Canada can be as cold as -30 degrees Celsius), or high moisture environments.
3. Dusty environments, such as food production (sugar, seasoning factories) or other industrial production (such as paper mills), can be extremely harmful to electrical components. In these environments, the factory can adopt RCS to build their IT and operational systems.
How is GIGABYTE helpful?
GIGABYTE can provide standard IPC form factor products equipped with various I/O arrays. Furthermore, GIGABYTE also offers compact IPC motherboards as well as providing exceptional customer service.
Recently, GIGABYTE's compact embedded box PC was adopted for use by Taiwan's Railway Administration for use in their train schedule display system, due to its tolerance to a fluctuating temperature environment and a fan-less design.
