PDAs in the Rail Industry

This is an interesting blog on the subject of mobile applications in the rail industry.

TelematicsWire.com -Rail

MobileDataforce is now working on a proposal to use RFID to inspect and inventory cargo in rail cars. This is quite interesting. The user walks up to a rail car and uses an RFID reader on a ruggedized PDA to see what is in it. This solution uses our PointSync software to integrate with the RFID reader, query a database on the handheld computer, and show information on the cargo in the car.

Ticket evaders targeted with PDAs

Westminster's parking attendants using PDAs to track motorists who fail to pay their fines.

Ticket evaders targeted

Palm OS Based Vibration Spectrum Analyzer

I love seeing companies put PDAs to work. The following links show how the power of Palm PDAs can be used for machine condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, and routine troubleshooting.

Datastick Systems, Inc., introduces the VSA-1212 Vibration Spectrum Analyzer, the first PDA-based vibration analyzer to use standard, off-the-shelf ICP®-type piezoelectric accelerometers for machine condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, and routine troubleshooting. Includes VSA-1212 Vibration Spectrum Analyzer, Datastick Spectrum handheld software, and Datastick Reporting System™ for VSA personal computer software.

Our Intercue Mobility Suite can be integrated with a large variety of testing equipment. The integration can be directly with the handheld PDA via USB, bluetooth or IRDA.

PDAs for Fire Brigades

Here is an interesting article about using PDAs in real time to convey information about an incident scene. The integration of real-time video, digital images and GPS information is particularly interesting.

Australian IT - PDAs for fire brigade (Kelly Mills, FEBRUARY 14, 2006): "
PDAs for fire brigade

Emergency management: Jason Catlin says the PDAs are being tested in counter-terrorism drills. The organisation is the first of a number of emergency services groups in Australia to give the nod to the counter-terrorism and emergency management system using PDAs.

MobileDataforce's PointSync software is an excellent platform for these kinds of solutions. We are receiving inquiries from Fire Brigades all around the globe. We are currently working on a relatively large project for a Fire Brigade in the UK.

We also get many inquires concerning fire safety inspections where they use PDAs to inspect fire extinguishers, compliance to fire code, etc.

Gartner Says Worldwide PDA Shipments Reach Record Level in 2005

Gartner Says Worldwide PDA Shipments Reach Record Level in 2005

PDA Shipments of 14.9 Million Units in 2005 Tops Previous Mark Set
in 2001

STAMFORD, Conn., February 14, 2006, Worldwide personal digital assistant
(PDA) shipments totaled a record 14.9 million units in 2005, a 19 percent
increase from 2004, according to Gartner, Inc. The 2005 results topped
the previous record of 13.2 million PDAs shipped worldwide in 2001.

Research In Motion (RIM) became the No. 1 PDA vendor based on worldwide
shipments in 2005 as it accounted for 21.4 percent of total shipments. Its shipments in 2005 increased 47 percent from 2004. These results do not include an estimated 858,000 BlackBerry smartphones shipped in 2005, which Gartner classifies separately because of their
voice-centric design.

'RIM does not appear to be losing much momentum despite its legal
problems and the threat of an injunction,' said Todd Kort, principal
analyst in Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. 'Generally,
BlackBerry users are staying put because of the high cost of switching,
lack of suitable alternative devices, and the low probability of
BlackBerry service being shut down.'

Palm shipped 2.77 million PDAs in 2005, down 25 percent from 2004
shipments. These results exclude Palm's Treo smartphone shipments
of 1.95 million units in 2005.

Palm regained the PDA market lead in the fourth quarter of 2005 with 1.04 "