Mobility and data capture

Scanners, handhelds and RFID, matched to the work they have to survive

Mobile computers, wearables, barcode scanners, RFID and fixed industrial scanning from the brands we specify, supply and service across Canada. Start from the job your team does and the range narrows itself.

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Devices in the range

Device families

Years in the field

Device types

Four kinds of device do the capture work

Most of what goes wrong on a hardware order is settled before a model number is chosen. These four classes do different jobs, fail in different ways, and cost different amounts to deploy.

What a mobile computer does that a scanner cannot

It runs the application as well as reading the barcode. A mobile computer is a rugged Android device with a scan engine in it, so the picker sees the next task on screen instead of walking back to a terminal. That matters most where the work moves: picking, put away, cycle counts and delivery.

Runs your WMS or a browser client on the device
Scans, photographs, signs and prints from one unit
Sealed, drop rated, and built for a full shift on one battery

When a barcode scanner is the right answer

When the host system is already in front of the operator. A scanner is an input device: it reads the code and hands the characters to whatever has focus, which makes it the cheaper and simpler choice at a packing bench, a receiving desk or a till. Ask where the screen is. If the operator is standing at one, a scanner is usually enough.

Cheapest route to reliable data capture at a fixed station
Corded or Bluetooth, 1D and 2D, standard or long range
No device management, no application, no battery estate

What RFID reads that a barcode will not

Tags it cannot see. RFID reads in bulk and without line of sight, so a pallet can be counted through shrink wrap and a cage of returns can be read in one pass. It is the answer when the counting itself is the cost, not the scanning. It is not a cheaper barcode, and it does not replace one.

Hundreds of tags a second, no line of sight needed
Handheld sleds, integrated readers, fixed portals and overhead
Cycle counting, asset search and receiving at pallet level

Where fixed industrial scanning replaces the operator

On the conveyor and the production line, where there is no one to hold anything. A fixed scanner or a vision camera reads every item that passes, at line speed, and tells the control system what it saw. The decision here is about the read rate you have to hit and what happens to the ones that fail.

Reads at line speed with no operator in the loop
Barcode reading, presence checking and machine vision inspection
Feeds the sorter, the diverter or the PLC directly

Mobile computer or barcode scanner, side by side

	Mobile computer	Barcode scanner
What it runs	Your WMS or browser client, on the device	Nothing. It sends characters to the host
Where the operator is	Moving through the building	Standing at a screen
What it replaces	A paper list and a walk back to the terminal	Typing
Typical deployment cost	Higher per unit, plus device management	Lower per unit, no estate to manage
When it is the wrong choice	A fixed packing bench that already has a PC	Anywhere the worker has to carry the screen

Not sure which class you need? Start from the job your team actually does.

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