Last week in this article we discussed the new PanelView 5500 and PanelView Plus 7 products detailed in Rockwell’s recently updated visualization guide.

But those weren’t the only new products found in the guide – Rockwell’s MobileView was also featured.

MobileView-at-Automation-Fair-2014Designed for those applications where a standard HMI on a pendant arm is not sufficient, the new MobileView allows operators up to 49ft (15m) of freedom to take the HMI with them as they setup and operate their systems.

And unlike wireless tablets, this tethered HMI never needs to be charged and includes a hardwired E-Stop button on the front, as well as a three position enabling switch built into the handgrip.
The MobileView runs on Windows 7 Embedded, and can be ordered with FactoryTalk View Machine Edition pre-installed.

As far as processing power, the MobileView uses Intel Atom processors and boots in an impressive 30 seconds  as seen at Automation Fair 2014.

These units are rated IP65 and include a USB port on the back of the unit for copying files and applications to and from the terminal.

So what do you think? Do you have any applications where a tethered HMI would be preferred over an industrial tablet or conventional HMI on a pendant arm?
Please let us know your thoughts by filling in the “post a comment or question” link below.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

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Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. Rockwell was the only major vendor that didn’t have a mobile operator interface. Schneider, Pro-face, Siemens, Mitsubishi, and Omron all have one; but most are old models without a modern update. It’s nice to see a major vendor step out and start to push in the right direction; mobile tablets.
    The older version (10+ years ago) was too low on speed. If you saw one, you know what I mean.
    Now that there are high speed and low power (ie. lower heat) processors we should see more of these mobile tablets from all vendors; wired or wireless.
    No enclosure to buy, no cutting a mounting hole, uses far less space to mount on a machine, gives you the freedom to move around and still have control & e-stop. Hopefully this is Rockwell’s first of many products into mobile operator interface.

    • Good afternoon Arlen,
      Thanks for your comments and additional info!
      Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing the original from 10 years ago was a little underpowered.
      I have to say when I saw this new model at Automation Fair in 2014 I was impressed, especially with the boot up time.
      In fact, my client and I actually asked to see the boot up speed demoed since we were a little skeptical, even timing its boot up with our stopwatch lol.
      Well, thanks again for your comments!

      Join my free community to follow along! You can also become a member and support our work at: Automation.Locals.com

    • Good afternoon Tisha,
      The unit is tethered via a cable of up to 49ft.
      The upside is you never have to charge it as it’s always plugged in.
      An ever bigger upside is you get a hardwired E-Stop button too which you can’t get on a wireless tablet.
      You know, Rockwell did have a product like this about ten years ago but I didn’t see a lot of people use it so I’m kind of curios why they brought it back…
      Thanks for your comment,
      Shawn Tierney

      Join my free community to follow along! You can also become a member and support our work at: Automation.Locals.com