Are there 8 inch or bigger Touchscreens for embedded use (would an iPad work)? [closed]

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I have a requirement to build an 8" touchscreen interface on an instrument. I'm a software developer and working with a hardware team but since this touchscreen is likely to have some significant software development I wanted to see if the SO community could provide me with some early intelligence. I have two questions:

1. Does anyone have recommendations for an 8" touchscreen (capacitive or resistive) for embedding in an instrument? I could communicate with it over RS232, SPI, or some similar protocol.

2. Could I use an iPad or similar tablet for this? The embedded processor will host a web server so the tablet could just use a browser to hit the home page and all control would be done that way. I see two obstacles: I need a tablet either with an RJ45 connector (or one that has an external adapter to Ethernet). I want to avoid having to add WiFi to the instrument (although I can if that's what it takes). I would want a tablet that I could force to boot into the browser and have the browser always go to the home page (which would be set as the instrument's home page). It wouldn't be that big a deal if the user found some way to navigate away from the instrument, but powering on/off the instrument would always bring it back to the home page. It's OK if I have to learn the native programming language of the tablet to write an app that forces this to happen, I just don't know if it's even possible since these tablets are built for general purpose use.

Answer 1

I currently have the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1" Which is a very nice and comfortable size, this is Android based.

The Android platform (Especially the latest iteration of Honeycomb) support things that may be able to connect an RJ45 connector. Android Honeycomb 3.1 and higher supports USB host mode, so if you could convert it with an adapter then you're set.

Alternatively you could use the android ADK (Accessory development kit) to convert the RS232 or RJ45 port for the device.

Embedding the Android platform into your instrument would be very nice, because its extensive list of features and flexibility as a development platform would be beneficial.

More info here: http://accessories.android.com/

and here: http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-3.2.html

Answer 2

Using an iPad or similar "finished" device as your display is probably over-kill and expensive - especially for volume production. TFT display panels and touch membranes are separately available components for you to integrate as necessary for example this supplier has touch membranes to 10.4 inch. Google "touch TFT panel" for similar suppliers in your area.