Posts by Eric Ryan

In factories, warehouses, construction sites, and field operations, AI is moving from the cloud to the edge. 

AI solutions such as visual inspection, predictive maintenance, and real-time diagnostics are happening on the factory floor and in the field now, not by connecting to an LLM in the cloud but by running AI Agents locally on rugged tablets. 

If you’re comparing a rugged tablet against a mini PC with a webcam, or considering deploying a consumer device, this should change your mind.

Explaining “TOPS”

If you’ve been shopping for a rugged tablet or an edge AI device, you’ve definitely seen terms like “12 TOPS” or “15 TOPS” referenced. TOPS stands for Tera Operations Per Second, which means how many trillion (yes, you read it correctly) calculations an AI chip can process every second. A higher TOPS rating means the device can process AI faster.  But high TOPS devices are very expensive and rarely needed for typical Edge AI applications. 

Note: TOPS is only relevant when you run AI on the device – what we call Edge AI – not when connecting to AI in the cloud, where the computation occurs on remote servers in data centers.

Walk onto any airport ramp these days and you’ll spot the transformation. Where flight crews once lugged laptops and binders, they’re now using rugged tablets. 

Aviation’s unforgiving conditions—vibration, sun glare, dust, moisture—don’t play well with consumer tech. Pilots, mechanics, and ground crews need devices that survive turbulence, literal and figurative. That’s exactly why fleets are adopting rugged tablets.

Shipping yards don’t look like they used to. Where clipboards, walkie-talkies, and paper stacks once ruled the day, today’s yards hum with digital efficiency. Mobile devices—especially rugged tablets—now sit at the heart of modern shipping yard operations. These devices accelerate decision-making, reduce costly delays, and keep cargo flowing smoothly from ship to shelf.

At ports large and small, rugged mobile technology helps crews manage the relentless pace of modern logistics. With just a few taps on a rugged screen, workers locate containers, respond to problems instantly, and improve safety across the yard. This isn’t a passing trend—it’s reshaping how the world’s cargo moves.

Over 80% of food industry leaders say modernization is a priority—so what’s holding them back?

If your food supply chain still runs on spreadsheets and email threads, you’re not alone. Nearly 70% of food and beverage brands still depend on manual workflows, despite widespread agreement that modernization is overdue. The cost of technical stagnation adds-up. Bottlenecks. Compliance gaps. Innovation delays. Teams waiting for IT to deliver benefits.

In the shift to Industry 4.0, your people can’t move faster than their technology.
Most companies talk about “empowering their workforce,” then hand them outdated tools and expect high performance results. If your frontline workers are still using consumer tablets or clunky legacy systems, they’re under-equipped.

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Warehouses used to run on clipboards and walkie-talkies. Now they run on real-time data. And the data needs to move with your team—not sit in the back office.

The vast majority of manufacturers say mobile technology matters more than ever before. From inventory counts to ERP inputs to WMS navigation, rugged tablets are how your workers interface with the systems that keep your business moving.

Here’s the catch: mobility without a strategy can create more friction than it solves.

Industry 4.0 describes a fundamental transformation of the manufacturing sector, marked by interconnected systems, digital integration, and use of emerging technologies. Minno rugged tablets facilitates this evolution by enabling manufacturers to move toward smart operations.

Modern manufacturing is rapidly evolving, driven by automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and data-centric processes. Minno rugged tablets empower manufacturers to seamlessly integrate these advancements into their operations, delivering significant improvements in efficiency, quality, and operational safety.

Warehouses today require technologies capable of increasing productivity and enduring demanding operational environments. While consumer-grade tablets often fall short, Minno rugged tablets are purpose-built to meet and exceed the rigorous demands of modern logistics and material handling.

Explore what intrinsically safe tablets are, their features, ATEX ratings, and how they enhance safety and performance across industries.