Mitsubishi Electric: New MELIPC Line of Industrial PCs for Edge Computing
October 1, 2019
Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. has announced the release of its MELIPC Series of industrial-use computers for data computing, edge computing, remote monitoring, and the integration of hardware and software technologies. The MELIPC Series is targeted towards OEMs and end users running general manufacturing applications, and especially those who require a computing and data monitoring solution that takes up a limited amount of space with a small footprint. Most importantly, MELIPC is designed to enable Internet of Things (IoT) on factory floors that have not been introduced to it yet, or improve it where it is already enabled.
MELIPC releases with four initial models: MI1000, MI2000, MI3000, and MI5000. MI5000, the flagship product, combines real-time equipment control and information processing in one solution. MI3000 contains a touch screen LCD panel and pre-installed software that allows users to run it as if it were an HMI. The midrange MI2000 is designed for wide-ranged system expansion, and the compact, low-cost MI1000 enables companies to begin introducing IoT on their factory floors. All four models can be purchased standalone with Windows® 10 IoT Enterprise 2016 installed, or can be purchased together with software as a comprehensive MELIPC data solution.
MI5000 includes two operating systems, VxWorks® and Windows. It is compatible with the CC-Link IE Field industrial network, enabling high-speed data exchange at speeds of up to 1ms for real-time equipment control. It also uses Edgecross, an open software platform, to process and distribute data. All models in the MELIPC Series are have Windows preinstalled and various software that allows for edge computing and high speed data transmission.
“More and more manufacturing floors are beginning to take edge computing into consideration,” said Agnieszka Zupancic, product manager at Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. “It allows them to process the data where it is generated, instead of a centralized location, leading to faster speeds and efficiencies. MELIPC combines edge computing technology with the industrially-hardened products and effective networks and software our customers have come to expect from us.”
