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RuggON VX-601

Ultra-rugged Intel Skylake-powered 12.1-inch Windows vehicle mount computer
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

Taiwan-based RuggON Corporation is a global provider of ruggedized computing products. The company's lineup consists of RuggTAB tablets and RuggVMC vehicle mount computers. RuggedPCReview reported on the 10.4-inch VM-521 in detail in March 2016 (see here). On April 25, 2017, RuggON announced the VX-601 rugged in-vehicle terminal for customers who need a larger display and higher performance.

Designed from the ground up as a tough vehicle mount system, RuggON's VX-601 brings tablet computer functionality into any cockpit. It does so with a compact 12.8 x 10.3 x 2.7 inch enclosure that weighs about ten pounds and can be mounted in numerous ways.

The RuggON VX-601 has a 12.1-inch display with conventional XGA 1024 x 768 pixel resolution, making for the 4:3 aspect ratio that was the standard on almost all computer displays until wide formats became prevalent (though the Apple iPad continues to use 4:3). The anti-reflective display is sunlight readable with its very strong 1,200 nits backlight that auto-dims to avoid eyestrain. A button-operated defroster is optionally available.

The VX-601 uses traditional 5-wire resistive touch, still a good choice for tablets primarily running vehicle-optimized custom software (glove-capable capacitive touch is optionally available). The screen size and aspect ratio make the VX-601 capable of running virtually all Windows-based legacy vertical and industrial market software without alteration. Dedicated user-programmable function keys around the touchscreen provide instant access to important operations, including brightness and volume. In addition, RuggON has developed their own DashON interface/utility for easy monitoring and/or adjusting of various settings and features.

The RuggON VX-601 is powered by an Intel "Skylake" 6th generation i5-6300U Core processor. This chip provides significantly more performance than is commonly available in vehicle-mount computers. Targeted by RuggON at diverse applications such as intralogistics, cold chain logistics, waste management, mining, harbor freight handling, agriculture and construction, the VX-601 should be plenty powerful enough to handle even complex high-end applications. For deployments with lesser performance requirements, the company offers the VX-601 also with an Intel Celeron 3955U. Also a Skylake chip, the 3955U lacks high-end features such as turbo boost, multi-threading, and a variety of integrated Intel technologies, but uses the same processor architecture lithography as the 6300U.

As expected from a vehicle-mount, the VX-601 excels in connectivity. There's USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, two legacy serial ports (one RS232 and one RS232/422/485), RJ45 Ethernet, CAN bus with J1939 and OBDII support, GPIO, audio, and both internal and external antennae. For video surveillance and similar applications, there's optional 4-port video-in, and RuggON includes an SDK for it as well.

For wireless communication, the VX-601 includes Bluetooth 4.0 Class II, speedy 802.11ac WiFi, and GNSS (GPS/QZSS or GLONASS). Optionally available is 4G LTE mobile broadband capability.

The VX-601 is an ultra-rugged unit, designed to handle whatever abuse or extreme environmental conditions it may encounter while on vehicle duty. That includes a very wide operating temperature range of -22° to 131°F (-30° to 55°C) as well as IP66 sealing, which means the unit is totally protected against dust and also against strong jets of water (meaning it can even be hosed down). RuggON claims MIL-STD-810G testing for shock and vibration. For a vehicle-mount this is an exceptionally powerful battery that allows a good hour and a half of independent operation.

For power, there's very wide range 9~60VDC with ignition sense and time delay shutdown. Remote power-on and wake-up are available via SMS or RTC. An internal 48.6 watt-hour battery acts as an uninterruptible power supply and also guards against unstable power during vehicle operation.

In summary, the RuggON VX-601 is a very rugged vehicle mount computer using the latest WiFi and PAN communication standards, high-end Intel 6th generation Core processing, and a large and very bright resistive touch display, while also offering CAN (Controller Area Network) and legacy serial interface support.

Specifications RuggON VX-601
Added Added 04/2017
Type Rugged Vehicle Mount PC
Processor Intel 6th generation "Skylake" Core i5-6300U
CPU Speed 2.40GHz
Turbo Speed 3.00GHz
CPU Thermal Design Power 15 watts
Standard/Max RAM 4GB to 32GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM
OS Windows 10 IoT, Windows 7 Professional Embedded
Graphics Intel HD Graphics 520 (300/1,000 MHz)
Disk/drive 64GB M.2 2280-type Solid State Disk
Expansion bay TBA
Expansion slots 2 x Micro SIM, 1 x mini-PCIe for WWAN
Card slots 1 x SD card, 1 x SIM
Display type TFT with 700 or 1,200 nits luminance (MIL-STD-85762A), LED backlight, autodimming, AR, polarizer optional defroster
Display size/res 12.1-inch/XGA (1024 x 768 pixel)
Digitizer/pens 5-wire resistive touch (glove-capable capacitive touch optionally available)
Keyboard/scale Optional external; 9 x programmable buttons, brightness, volume, display on/off, optional defrost/defog button
Housing ADC-12 die-cast aluminum alloy
Operating Temp -22° to 131°F (-30° to 55°C)
Sealing IP66 IEC60529
Drop Unknown
Shock MIL-STD-810G: 40G at 11ms terminal sawtooth
Humidity Est: 5 to 95% non-condensing
Salt fog MIL-STD-810G, Change1, Method 509.6
Vibration MIL-STD-810G, Method 514.7 c2/c3/c4 IEC 60721-3-5 class 5M3
Altitude Unknown
Certifications Est: CE, FCC, CB
Size (WxHxD) 12.8" x 10.3" x 2.7" (325mm x 262mm x 67mm)
Weight 4.6kg (10.2 pounds)
Power Wide range isolated 9~60VDC, ignition sense, remote wake (SMS/RTC), integrated battery (10.8V, 4,500mAH, 48.6 watt-hour)
Interface 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x RS232/422/485, 1 x R232, 1 x RJ45 LAN, 2 x CAN, 2 x GPIO, audio in/out, power; optional 4 x video-in
Camera None; optional 4 ports video-in (SDK included)
Sensors 3-axis G-sensor
Wireless 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth v4.0 Class 2; optional GNSS (GPS/QZSS or GLONASS), optional 4G LTE/GPRS/HSPA+ WWAN
List price inquire
Web page RuggON VX-601 product page
Spec sheet RuggON VX-601 brochure (PDF)
RuggON VX-601

RuggON Corporation
3F., No.10, Ln. 181, Sec. 2, Jiuzong Rd., Neihu Dist.
Taipei City 114, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Telephone: 886-2-8797-1778
Fax: 886-2-8797-1881
Web: www.ruggon.com
info@ruggon.com