The origin of the verb “to monitor” is the Latin word “monit” –meaning to warn. Thus, a monitor is basically someone or a device that watches over or listens to something. It could be a TV receiver viewing the output from a TV or video camera; or, an audio speaker used to hear what sound is being recorded; meaning that it is observing and maintaining surveillance over a period of time. This, in a way, is what the monitor for your computer is actually doing since it shows you on a screen what actions are being performed inside the computer.
However, this type of monitoring is reliant upon some form of input being feed to the screen. A monitor screen on its own serves no purpose. This is even more so when we look at flat screens that can be used as touch screen monitors. Someone touches the screen to send an input to whatever is inside and then the monitor shows them the results of that action.
Connectivity
It is possible to have an Industrial Touch Screen Monitor that has very little attached to it other than a means of communication with a remote computer that will interpret the screen touches and send back the suitable data to the screen. This might have use in the likes of warehouse inventory or point of sale screens but is less likely to be found in industrial process monitoring.
For these latter cases, it is more likely that the monitor’s casing will have been slightly enlarged so as to encase more than just the flat LED screen. These days, quite high powered computer motherboards, chips, adapters, cards, etc take up very little space and can be easily incorporated into a panel like structure along with the screen. Furthermore, today’s components do not require large amounts of cooling air so the whole panel PC along with its Industrial Touch Screen Monitor will not contain any fans so it will be compact for easy mounting and will be very quiet in use.
Protective Casing For The Panel.
By its very nature, an Industrial Touch Screen Monitor whether only a screen or a complete panel PC is more likely to be subjected to knocks and vibration than its counterpart used in an office or domestic environment. Additionally, there may be water or moisture present, or other factors that could damage standard grade plastic casings; which are more often selected on decorative or light weight grounds. For industrial use, the outer casing has to be much more rugged and durable on an Industrial Touch Screen Monitor.
