12-07-2016 | Honeywell | Design Applications
Honeywell has introduced the N6600 Series ultra-slim area-imaging engine and its miniature decoding board the Mini DB, which together enable small mobile devices to quickly and accurately capture data from barcodes. Measuring just 6.8mm in height, the N6600 series is one of the slimmest and most compact engines of its kind currently on the market. It can be embedded in mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablet sleds or wearable scanning solutions used in retail, distribution centre, logistics and parcel delivery environments. Designed for rugged environments, the N6600 series features a global shutter with the ability to accurately read most damaged or poorly printed barcodes, as well as a high motion tolerance of 5.84 meters per second. It incorporates either a green LED aimer or a red laser aimer depending on the environmental conditions and use cases. "The N6600 series is the slimmest 2D scan engine on the market," said Emre Onder, vice president, electronic and optical sensing, Honeywell Sensing and Productivity Solutions. "It offers a range of data capture applications that can be used by workers in a variety of rugged environments, from delivery drivers attempting to scan barcodes outdoors in bright sunlight to distribution centre workers who need to quickly capture data from a package's damaged label." The N6600 series features a scan rate of 60 frames-per-second and accurately reads 2D barcodes. As businesses need greater access to data to enhance their operations, they continue to shift from linear 1D barcodes, which contain limited amounts of data, to 2D barcodes. This multiplies the amount of data that can be stored and enables other data, such as images, to be captured by scanners. Codentity, a South Africa-based joint venture between Bartrans Ltd. and Excellent ID, is currently incorporating the N6600 scan engine into its new e-Skan portable scanner, which is used to read and decrypt South African driver's licenses for a variety of markets. "We needed a compact scan engine that can quickly and effectively scan a range of barcodes, especially if the label is in poor condition," said Luke Dunstan, director, Bartrans Ltd. "Accuracy and speed are critical for personal identification and security environments, and the slim design of the N6600 allows us to embed it in smaller, lightweight scanning devices that our customers prefer." The N6600 scan engine can also be paired with the Mini DB, Honeywell's next generation miniature-size decoder board. The Mini DB is 60 percent smaller than the previous decoder generation, which provides manufacturers with the flexibility to integrate it into smaller mobility devices. It offers a board-to-board connection configuration and the choice between RS 232 and USB interfaces. Honeywell's updated decoding software optimizes the Mini DB's performance by enhancing off-screen reading and decoding.
