An acquaintance is designing a home-brew Segway-style single-wheel vehicle and needed to integrate a 3-axis gyro and an accelerometer. He could have designed custom circuitry for this application, but sometimes the optimum solution is also the easiest, which was the iPod touch he already had on hand.
As he described this solution, I was reminded of Honeywell’s Captuvo SL22 Enterprise Sled for Apple’s iPod touch. Sure, Honeywell makes some of the most capable and durable mission-specific mobile computers on the planet, but it’s Captuvo SL22 offers a simple and affordable solution to re-purposing the iPod touch that is already familiar to millions. Just as my acquaintance will use an iPod touch as the heart of a self-balancing, single-wheel vehicle, the Captuvo SL22 instantly transforms the iPod touch into the heart of an enterprise-ready mobile computer with barcode-scanner capabilities. There’s even an optional integrated magnetic-stripe reader!
The SL22-system’s growing list of apps includes SwiftDecoder Mobile for reading both 1D and 2D barcodes, Honeywell’s Remote MasterMind, which allows IT administrators to execute most functions from a central location, EasyDL for reading the PDF417 barcodes on U.S. drivers licenses, AprivaPay for credit-card transactions, and even such specialized apps as CollisionNotes for the auto-collision repair industry.
Just as that single-wheel vehicle with have to be tough to support an adult rider at up to 10 MPH across a variety of terrains, the Captuvo SL22 is designed to withstand the rigors of use in an industrial setting as this video demonstrates:
The Captuvo adds a 1150-mAh lithium-ion battery for extended operation (up to 8 hours) and recharges through a standard micro-USB I/O port. The SL22 features left- and right-side scan buttons, plus a sleep/wake button. There’s even a built-in green LED aimer for the scanner.
A self-balancing, single-wheel rider with an iPod touch brain? Yep, really.