FIGURE G


Here is the connection to the flash chip/control board. Roll over picture for a larger image.

This plug was necessary due to legacy interface issues with the GSI control board hardware and will be manufactured by GSI and sold to the dealer network at nominal costs. All-in-all, it's pretty cool that a simple interface can connect a Palm device directly into something as specialized as a grain dryer control board.

Advantages of the Palm platform
So now that you know what our project does and how it works, let's look at some of the advantages of the Palm platform.

The flash chip programming software was developed in approximately one month and required the development of a custom conduit for loading the binary files into the dryer. I discussed the development of the program and conduit with Steve Logue, the primary developer, in order to gather insight into what he found to be the strengths and weaknesses of the Palm platform for this application.

This was Steve's first project with the Palm OS, and he considered the greatest advantage to be that it was very straightforward to develop a program for the Palm computer. He was also very impressed with the ease and reliability of the synchronization and program installation, as well as with the consistent behavior in the various types of devices on which the program has been installed (Palm IIIc, Palm m100, etc.). He found the most challenging part to be the development of the conduit. This was primarily due to a lack of examples and available information on the subject.

I also discussed with the development team the overall benefits that have been derived from this project. Of course, the primary advantage was the elimination of the difficulties posed by the previous update methods discussed earlier. Another advantage is that the control programs for other drying products with similar control boards can all be installed on the one Palm device and are available to service personnel wherever they journey in the world. It's global. Finally, the most obvious advantage is that the Palm devices may be used for a wide variety of other applications, so while we get a field service solution, we also can gain benefits in other areas, possibly including sales force automation.

I expect to see the continued adaptation of handheld computers for vertical applications in modern agribusiness, construction, and manufacturing environments. These types of devices can fill niche needs for which a laptop is too cumbersome. Handheld computing remains a very dynamic, competitive, and interesting area. Given a Palm device's strengths in form factor, ease of use, long battery life, and solid reliability, I believe we can expect to see more of them in the gritty environments these industries operate in and in far-flung regions of the world.

Tom Gettings is an engineer with The GSI Group, Inc. at http://www.grainsystems.com. He can be reached at tgettings@mail.