We’re looking into putting a number of iPads (or other tablets) with Groov View on the plant floor with barcode scanners connected to them. The idea is that the operators will scan a part into their workstation, perform their work, enter some additional data about the part, and then pass it along. Due to the high speed of operation, the barcode reading needs to populate that HMI screen as seamlessly as possible. I’m pretty sure that Groov View will accept barcode scans as keyboard inputs into fields on the HMI, but is there a way to do that without the operator having to click into the field, scan, then click enter or something to close the field?
I’m envisioning the operator picking up their scanner, scanning a part, and immediately getting data about the part back on the screen. The screen would reset to the initial state whenever the operator clicks something at the end of the work cycle and would await the next barcode scan. Is that something that can be done in Groov View or will the operator have to click into the generic input field every time they want to scan something?
A lot of the barcode scanners out there will publish starting and and ending bits, could these potentially be used to enter and confirm the barcode reading in the input field? I know that Ignition is great at sucking in this kind of barcode data, and we’ve done that at other sites, but trying to go Groov on this job. For context we’re planning to use Groov server for windows to serve up the Groov View HMI and collect the data. We have a few Groov RIO modules scattered around the plant, but none in these areas, and no EPICs or other Opto22 devices.
I appreciate the help! Groov View and Groov Server for Windows look like exactly what we want, but there will be a ton of barcode scans going on around the site, so I’d like to make sure that is as painless as possible.