Application-specifi c tablets ready to innovate the industrial market
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W H I T E PA P E R
Ram Sathappan,
EPOS business manager
Texas Instruments
Application-specific tablets
ready to innovate the
industrial market
Overview
Ever since the tablet PC laid claim to a major
portion of the consumer computing market- Tablets burst on the scene
place, it has made steady inroads into the Infinite Research stated that in 2010, a few short years after consumers started to demand
workplace. Now, the tablet’s adoption rate tablets, the market had grown to a remarkable 17.6 million units.1 And yet, the tablet had
in enterprise applications is on the verge of barely begun to scratch the surface of the enterprise computing marketplace. Looking into
exploding. The ascent of application-specific the future, various market research firms have predicted phenomenal growth for the tablet in
tablet designs gives manufacturers some- enterprise applications.
thing of a blank slate with which they can Over the course of 2010 alone, the presence of Apple’s iPad had moved from 50 percent
quickly configure powerful tablets custom- of the Fortune 100 companies in the U.S. to over 80 percent by year end, according to Infinite
ized with the hardware and software needed Research.2 By 2016, Infinite Research expects that the size of the tablet market will grow
for operational applications in retail stores, to over 300 million units, of which approximately 100 million will be dedicated to enterprise
restaurants, hotels, healthcare organiza- applications. Total market size by 2016 is predicted to be approximately 316 million units with
tions, factories and many other businesses. enterprise tablets making up 20–25 percent of the total.
Quite simply, the tablet is a natural fit Of course, some consumer-oriented tablets have already made the leap into enterprise
for operational enterprise applications. By applications, especially where mobility and constant connectivity is a prerequisite for users
combining the capabilities of tablets like such as sales executives, high-level management in finance, legal and IT departments and
mobility, intuitive ease-of-use, graphical others who tend to travel a great deal. The applications employed by these types of users are
presentation of information and powerful well served by off-the-shelf consumer tablets that support the most popular generic office
connectivity with specific hardware features,
such as card or barcode readers, security
features, ruggedized components, sensors
and other options manufacturers can rap-
idly deploy application-specific tablets that
enhance the productivity, effectiveness and
efficiencies of enterprises across a broad
swath of vertical industries. Following on
the heels of its success with consumers in
homes and on the road, the tablet will soon
become even more pervasive on the job.
Electronic Tablet Reference Design based on Sitara™ AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 processor
2 Texas Instruments
applications and feature an open browser for Internet access and cloud computing. Essentially, consumer
tablets in business applications are currently replacing laptops. Since these nomadic users likely are already
heavily reliant on smartphones, the transition to a consumer tablet can be quite seamless.
But beyond the consumer-turned-business tablets, the next wave of enterprise tablets will soon be de-
ployed in operational applications on the factory floors as well as in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, healthcare
offices and retail stores. In contrast to the broad, somewhat generic selection of capabilities that characterize
consumer tablets, the capabilities of enterprise tablets will be tailored to the requirements of specialized ap-
plications. Based on modular or reference designs, enterprise tables will be integrated with a specific set of
hardware and software capabilities that meets the needs of the application.
What goes into an Enterprise tablets will not come out of a one-size-fits-all mold the way that most consumer tablets do.
application-specific Instead, reference designs for enterprise tablets will allow manufacturers to pick the resources demanded by
enterprise tablet?
the application, ignoring some of the features of consumer tablets that would be superfluous in the targeted
application. Some of the consumer-oriented hardware and software capabilities of tablets are not needed
in enterprise tablets. Instead, an enterprise application could call for certain specialized features, which are
never found in the typical consumer tablet.
Connectivity
y
Audio Subsystem
WiFi
Stereo Headphone
SDIO NFC
3-Axis Display Subsystem
Audio Bluetooth Accelerometer
Audio SPI
Switches LCD Bias
Codec
and ESD Haptics and
Audio System Backlight
Speaker Amplifier
I2S I2C Touch
Microphone I2C/SPI Screen 7” LCD
Applications Controller Display
DDR3 SDRC Processor
Memory DSI, LVDS, RGB24
D Display
Flash Interface
MMC
C
SD Card
USB Camera
Barcode
Biometric
Scanner
Sensors USB Power
Module I2C USB
Power Switch with Switches
Management Boost Converter and ESD
Unit for System USB OTG
Processor and
System Power
1D/2D Barcode Battery Battery AC Power
Management Charger Adaptor
AC Plug
Display
Audio
Gas Gauge Battery
Control/GPIO
Memory Power
Power
Management
LEGEND Logic
Processor Power
Interface ADC/DAC
RF/IF Clocks
Amplifier Other
Application-specific tablets ready to innovate the industrial market November 2012Texas Instruments 3
For example, enterprise tablets for operational retail applications could require a card reader or a barcode
reader rather than the high-definition 1080p video display found in consumer tablets. Rather than the two
digital cameras that consumer tablets often have, enterprise tablets deployed in secure enterprise applica-
tions might be configured with biometric security safeguards, such as a fingerprint reader or retina scanner.
Since the specialized resources or ruggedized components required by enterprise tablets will add costs,
manufacturers of application-specific enterprise tablets will certainly eliminate all but the most mission-
critical resources as a way to limit the overall bill of materials of the platform. Many of the eye-popping
capabilities of consumer tablets, such as 3D graphics, stereo music, large 10-in. high-definition displays, very
high gaming performance, exotic input/output (I/O) interfaces for multimedia, Web browsing and others can
be pared from the typical enterprise tablet depending on the application need. Still, the reference design for
enterprise tablets must be very flexible so that manufacturers can easily integrate the specific hardware and
software resources needed to quickly roll out the new tablet-based application in the enterprise.
Keeping tabs on Keen interest in application-specific enterprise tablets is already emerging in several vertical industries
the tablets where the operational objectives of the business can be mapped quite effectively onto the tablet’s set of
capabilities.
Enterprise/Retail Healthcare Automation
• Inventory mgmt./Fleet mgmt. • Electronic medical records • Home automation panel
• Digital retail catalog • Digital imaging • Building management
Toys/Gaming Education Hospitality
• Toy look and feel • Interactive school books • Hotel room service
• Educational/Creative tools • Interactive notebooks • Restaurant table service
• Retail
Tablets in a retail setting offer a number of business benefits in terms of increasing in-store sales and
improving customer service. For example, a clothing store could increase impulse buying by empowering
Application-specific tablets ready to innovate the industrial market November 20124 Texas Instruments
its sales consultants with tablets and an application that visually demonstrated how consumers might ac-
cessorize the shirt or pants they originally intended to purchase. Tablets installed on shopping carts in gro-
cery stores might assist with price comparisons, locating hard-to-find items or suggesting complementary
recipes. Customer service in stores could be enhanced by equipping application-specific tablets with card
and barcode readers so that sales clerks could accept credit card or online payments, and customers
could avoid long lines at the point-of-sale terminals.
• Restaurants
Menus on tablets could accommodate rapidly changing selections and pricing shifts. In addition, patrons
could place their orders directly on a tablet as soon as they had decided. Dining time could be shortened,
increasing the restaurant’s business and the turnover rate of its customers. Ads running on tablet could
provide another revenue stream to the restaurateur and inform patrons of related entertainment venues,
such as theaters in the neighborhood.
• Hotels and hospitality industry
Application-specific tablets in hotel rooms could host a directory of the various services and facilities avail-
able to guests, as well as provide an ongoing schedule of events taking place in the hotel. An automated
concierge service running on a tablet could help ensure guest satisfaction and encourage repeat business.
Room service could be ordered and bills paid through a bedside tablet.
• Healthcare
Healthcare facilities typically generate a mountain of critical health-related and administrative informa-
tion. Certainly routine administrative forms could be streamlined with data entry and access applications
running on tablets. Doctors and nurses could also make use of tablets to access critical and graphically
oriented health records, such as test results, x-rays, medications, sonogram and other types of scans. Of
course, the critical nature of patient confidentiality would likely require strong security measures, such as a
biometric reader of some sort.
• Industrial
On the factory floor, enterprise tablets could be the platform for remote control of machinery and control
systems, or they might provide access to inventory items that are critical to maintaining production flow.
Shipping and receiving groups in industrial operations could have tracking information at their fingertips
through tablets. In addition to the use of tablets, the tablet reference design can be easily adapted for
integration with existing industrial machinery as Human Machine Interface (HMI) control panels enabling
re-use of the tablet design.
Application-specific tablets ready to innovate the industrial market November 2012Texas Instruments 5
• Education
Instead of students using off-the-shelf laptops or tablets with access to many of the distractions that typi-
cally beset students, an application-specific education tablet could be customized with a finite number of
study aids, class-required ebooks and research repositories for the students in a certain school district or
university system. Teachers might also make use of such a system to more effectively perform administra-
tive tasks, freeing more time for direct student interaction.
Tablet solutions To accelerate the adoption of application-specific tablets in enterprise applications, Texas Instruments Incor-
porated (TI) has collaborated with AllGo Systems to develop a reference design for a cost-effective enterprise
tablet. The ease with which this reference design can be customized with specialized application-specific
capabilities could reduce the time-to-market for an enterprise or industrial tablet.
Based on a highly integrated, low-power Sitara™ embedded processor with an AM335x ARM®
Cortex™-A8 core and the Android™ 4.0 operating system, TI’s Electronic Tablet Reference Design combines
a powerful yet cost-effective resource with a range of integration options, such as a three megapixel camera,
microphone, speakers, among others. The Reference Design features a seven-inch capacitive touch-screen
display, up to 512 megabytes (MB) of fast DDR3 memory, as well as NAND Flash (512 MB) and a microSD
memory card with up to 4 gigabytes (GB) of storage. Connectivity options incude Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth®
technology ports. A high-speed USB host and USB On-the-Go port are also available.
Given its many configuration options, the Electronic Tablet Reference Design will support very cost-sen-
sitive enterprise applications, such as embedded user interface or control panels, or a straightforward man/
machine interface (HMI) panel.
The key advantage of the Electronic Tablet Reference Design is not only software customization, but
hardware customization in which users can easily integrate and add specialized features like bar-code scan-
ners, contact or contactless card readers, biometric sensors, among others to meet the needs of industrial
applications.
TI’s broad ARM TI’s broad, scalable ARM® processor portfolio addresses a wide range of customer needs across specialized
processor portfolio tablet markets. Sitara™ ARM Cortex™-A8 processors provide performance levels of up to 1 GHz, integra-
offers scalable
tion, low power and peripherals such as rich 3D graphics, USB and display controller for easy-to-use, cost-
solutions
optimized solutions.
With more than 500 products that boast offerings from $1 in price and up to 5 GHz in performance, ARM
Cortex-A, Cortex-R and Cortex-M foundations, TI’s broad ARM processor portfolio include similar, scalable
hardware and software foundation. This allows developers to leverage TI’s various ARM offerings to maximize
investment, accelerate time to market and enable differentiated products across tablet segments based on
customer needs.
Application-specific tablets ready to innovate the industrial market November 20126 Texas Instruments
At home, Given the fact that the first tablet computers were introduced long before they became popular among
on the road, consumers, the emergence of tablet computing in the home may have been unexpected in some quarters of
at work
the industry. The next phase of the tablet’s evolution – its widespread adoption in the world of application-
specific enterprise applications – will not be a surprise. In fact, many experts would consider it a foregone
conclusion. The tablet’s full emergence in homes, on the road and in the work place demonstrates that form
factor matters. In fact, it is a powerful incentive to innovation. Combining powerful basic resources in a refer-
ence design with an extensive selection of integration options gives manufacturers an effective vehicle with
which they can accelerate the next phase of the tablet’s evolution.
References 1
Infinite Research: “Worldwide Enterprise Tablet Market Forecast”
2
Infinite Research: “Worldwide Enterprise Tablet Market Forecast”
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