When engineers perform equipment commissioning, maintenance, or testing on site, the computer they need is often very different from the one used in an office.
In an office, a PC usually stays on a desk. On a factory floor, however, engineers may need to move between control cabinets, test benches, production lines, and machines while connecting to PLCs, meters, sensors, cameras, or other controllers.
A conventional desktop PC is too cumbersome to move around. A consumer laptop is portable, but its interfaces, power input, installation options, and long-term reliability may not be suitable for industrial environments.
That is why, when choosing an embedded industrial PC, the first question should not be “How powerful is the processor?” but rather:
Can this computer actually handle the work that needs to be done on site?
One real-world example shows a portable industrial computer from the 1990s still being used beside a workbench today.
The machine uses a full-metal enclosure and weighs around 55 pounds. Its controller board was later replaced, with plans to upgrade it to an Intel Atom platform capable of running a newer 64-bit Linux system. The user connects to it through remote SSH from another workstation, where code is written and compiled before being loaded onto an AVR development board for debugging.
This example highlights an important point.
In industrial environments, “portable” does not always mean turning a computer into a thin and lightweight laptop. It often means making the computing system easy enough to move close to the machine so that engineers can directly use it for debugging, data acquisition, and testing.
Modern embedded industrial PC can make this setup much more compact.
Instead of moving a large industrial computer, engineers can install a small industrial PC inside a portable test box, compact cabinet, or mobile service cart. It can then be connected to a monitor and keyboard locally or operated remotely over the network.
Consider a common troubleshooting task.
An engineer arrives at a machine to investigate a PLC communication problem. During the process, the engineer may need to connect Ethernet, RS485, USB, and sometimes an external monitor at the same time.
For this type of task, an ARM-based embedded industrial PC such as theUSR-EG528can be a practical option.
USR-EG528 runs Ubuntu 24.04 and provides dual Ethernet ports, USB, HDMI, two RS485 ports, and two configurable RS485/RS232 interfaces. It also integrates Node-RED and WukongEdge, allowing it to support local data acquisition, protocol conversion, and logic testing.
For example, when commissioning a Modbus RTU device, the engineer can connect the device directly to the serial interface, read registers locally, verify the data, and then forward the information to an upper-level system through Ethernet, 4G, or Wi-Fi.
In this type of field task, having the right industrial interfaces is often more valuable than simply choosing a faster processor.
Another common situation is that maintenance teams already rely on an established software environment.
This may include Windows-based configuration tools, testing software, LabVIEW, WinCC, or other x86 applications.
In this case, choosing a smaller ARM computer simply because it is more compact may create unnecessary migration work.
TheUSR-EC100/EC300/EC500series uses an x86 architecture and supports both Windows and Ubuntu. The series also provides serial ports, USB, Ethernet, and display interfaces.
For example, the EC100 measures approximately 159.6 × 127 × 53.2 mm and supports desktop, DIN-rail, and embedded installation.
This makes x86 industrial PCs particularly useful for legacy equipment maintenance, production line upgrades, and test bench retrofits.
If the existing commissioning software must continue to run in a Windows/x86 environment, choosing a computer that is compatible with the current software stack is usually more practical than rebuilding or porting the entire system.
The selection criteria change again when the task moves from simply collecting data to processing it locally.
For example, engineers may need to test industrial cameras, object detection models, edge vision applications, or other AI algorithms.
In these situations, a basic data acquisition industrial PC may no longer provide enough processing capability.
TheUSR-EG928Auses an RK3588J octa-core processor and integrates an NPU delivering up to 6 TOPS of AI computing performance. It also provides Gigabit Ethernet, USB, RS232, RS485, CAN, and other industrial interfaces.
This makes it more suitable for edge AI and machine vision applications.
However, this does not mean every field service system needs an AI-capable industrial PC.
There is little value in paying for additional computing power simply because AI may be required in the future. NPU and GPU resources become important only when the actual task involves image analysis, AI inference, or multi-channel video processing.
First,what equipment needs to be connected?
If the main devices are PLCs, meters, sensors, or controllers, start by checking whether the industrial PC provides the required RS485, RS232, CAN, Ethernet, and USB interfaces.
Second,where does the existing software run?
If the engineering team already depends heavily on Windows software, an x86 industrial PC may be the safer choice. If the project uses Linux, Node-RED, or custom edge applications, an ARM-based platform can provide more flexibility.
Third,will the computer only be used for temporary commissioning, or will it remain beside the machine for long-term operation?
If it will run continuously in the field, additional factors should be considered, including fanless cooling, wide-temperature operation, wide-voltage power input, vibration resistance, and installation method.
These factors are often more important than they would be for an ordinary office computer.
Fourth,does the application really require AI computing power?
For data acquisition and protocol conversion, there is usually no need to over-specify computing performance.
For machine vision, image recognition, and AI inference, however, NPU, GPU, memory, and video interfaces should be evaluated separately.
For field service, maintenance, and testing, the best embedded industrial PC is not necessarily the one with the highest specifications.
It is the one that reduces the number of adapters engineers need to carry, works with the existing software environment, and allows engineers to complete the entire process ofconnection, data acquisition, diagnosis, and commissioningdirectly beside the machine.
That is a much more practical way to evaluate an industrial PC for field use than simply comparing CPU models.
