The term ‘rugged’ in its simplest form means ‘strongly made and capable of withstanding rough handling’. Where this description is applicable to rugged industrial computers, ruggedness in industrial computing goes beyond a computer being able to simply withstand impact or rough handling.
In the industrial sector, the smooth operation of a computer tasked with overseeing critical functions and procedures can cause significant and damaging consequences should it fail. Depending on their application, failures could even threaten the safety of workers and the general public, so measures have to be taken to ensure that the computing power in these industrial applications is rugged enough to withstand the harsh environments into which they’re installed. In many industrial sectors, such as the rail and power industries, the ruggedness and capability of industrial computers has to be certified in order to ensure safe operation in applications which can endanger the safety of workers and the general public.
Generally, a computer in an industrial application would not be handled at all. Rack PCs in a control room, or embedded computers running machinery on the factory floor — these types of computers have dedicated functions. But these environments can be devastating to computers that have not been ruggedised. Vibration can cause components to come loose. Dust and moisture can be sucked into fans and distributed throughout the chassis, causing catastrophic effects. Rugged industrial computers are designed to mitigate issues such as these, with features such as complete fanless operation, industrial-grade components in tough chassis, and I/O fixings that cannot be vibrated loose.