Better Connectivity, Thermal Imaging Options and More: Updates to Panasonic Rugged Tablets

With the newly improved FZ-G1 and FZ-M1 tablets unveiled, customers will find these two rugged tablets not only have more powerful processors and additional storage, but also feature increased functionality, improved connectivity and enhanced customizations.

When it comes to product enhancements, we look to our customers – after all, they’re the ones using our devices every day to do their jobs. When they have a need, that fuels our innovation.

Here’s what’s new in the latest versions of the FZ-G1 and FZ-M1 tablets:

Thermal Imaging for Temperature Analysis and Predictive Maintenance

No matter what industry you work in, downtime can be costly. Thankfully, technology has advanced to a point where mechanical repairs are addressed proactively rather than reactively, and whether mobile workers are addressing malfunctioning electrical equipment, out-of-commission transportation vehicles or amusement park ride components, predictive maintenance can keep operations from going off the rails.

Newly available for the FZ-G1, a built-in thermal camera supports mobile workers’ ability to spot problems before they ever happen. Typically, thermal imaging requires an additional device such as a thermal imager or temperature gun, which adds unnecessary weight and clutter to a mobile workers’ equipment load. Incorporating a thermal camera directly into the tablet you already use means added value for electrical field technicians who can now quickly assess the state of 100-200 connection points, identifying areas of failure with thermal imaging. Similarly, vehicle maintenance professionals can use thermal imaging to determine when components are overheating to proactively maintain the vehicles before a mid-delivery malfunction.

Environment Sensing: Thermal and 3D Imaging

In addition to identifying specific points of failure, environment sensing is another benefit of thermal imaging and also 3D camera technology. The FZ-M1 also offers thermal imaging with the new FLIR Lepton 3 camera, which delivers infrared analysis to catch invisible thermal sources immediately, ideal for detecting heat sources from a utility pole, power facility malfunctions or heat anomalies. The FLIR Lepton 3 camera is typically exclusive to Android devices, but has been reworked to operate on Windows devices for Toughbook customers.

The FZ-M1 not only offers mobile workers with the added advantage of thermal imaging, it also supports 3D imaging technology. With the FZ-M1’s Intel® RealSense Camera™, 3D imaging can be used to analyze depth and multi-surface areas without the need of additional devices. For shipping companies, 3D imaging is valuable to determine exact packaging measurements to plan against shipping capacity. Incredibly, this feature also enables better wound management for public safety professionals to provide better emergency medical services by precisely measuring injury depth.

Enhanced Connectivity in the Field

One of the greatest advantages of using mobile technology is being connected to mission-critical data anywhere in the field. Both the FZ-G1 and FZ-M1 have been upgraded to enhance and optimize connectivity for the mobile workforce.

With the FZ-M1 available in a Real-time Kinematic model, workers such as field technicians or construction workers have highly accurate location tracking at their fingertips – providing correct positioning within 10-50 centimeters.

Thanks to the new WWWAN EM7455 module, FZ-G1 customers have unprecedented LTE speeds, bandwidth and network performance. The tablet’s upgraded antenna and redesigned antenna cover enables better cellular connectivity and data access — a specific request from customers in the military and utility field services. But we didn’t stop there. The FZ-G1 also features a dual pass-through external antenna, offering mobile workers access to GPS and 4G LTE Advanced data simultaneously. This dual functionality helps mobile workers avoid having to rig an unofficial system to connect to both data sources, preventing the use of converters and dongles to simplify their mobile technology ecosystem.

Adaptability

The best mobile technology doesn’t simply offer new features; it offers solutions to specific needs of the mobile workforce. Whether helping mobile workers identify problems before they arise, providing them with real-time information as they serve in the field or offering seamless wireless connectivity, the FZ-M1 and FZ-G1 are well suited to equip the mobile workforce to help them work, the way they work.

For more information about our rugged tablets, visit our website.