Engineering Apps for tablets and smart phones... 3

[JohnRBaker]

Note that this topic has been dicussed here and in other forums in the past, but they all seemed to be closed so I'm starting this one.

For anyone interested in what sorts of engineering oriented apps are being introduced for tablets and smart phones there's a new article available from Design News:

http://www.designnews.com/author.as...pPParams=ind_186,industry_consumer,aid_260547

DISCLAIMER: I have no personal or financial interest in any of these apps nor have I necessarily even tried them myself, but am posting this merely as an FYI ;-)

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[DRWeig]

Thanks John!

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

 

[IDS]

Moving the workstation from moored cubical to where it's more convenient is the ultimate goal of any spry company.

Seems to me that in most cases working at a desk with a powerful computer and a couple of large high resolution monitors and a high speed network connection is much more convenient than working with an under-powered computer with a tiny screen and a slow network connection.

Which isn't to say that there isn't a place for using tablets, or perhaps even phones, but to suggest that "any spry company" should be moving everybody that way is going way too far.

Doug Jenkins
Interactive Design Services

http://newtonexcelbach.wordpress.com/

 

[jhardy1]

@IDS
I agree that when you are at your desk, a proper desktop or notebook is the way only to go - but we don't all spend all of our working lives at our desks, and that's where tablet and phone apps come in to their own. (Network speed should not be a big issue these days in built-up areas with LTE etc, but is still a limiting factor in rural areas - but many apps don't need a network connection to function anyway.)

For those who MUST have full PC functionality when on the go, a Windows 8 tablet could be the perfect tool. My site needs are more modest (although I still pack the notebook, I find it only comes out of the bag when I'm in the site office), and my 7" Android tablet is a fantastic site tool - small enough to fit into a jacket pocket; big enough to be useful (my phone works as an acceptable substitute if my tablet isn't handy, and has a much better camera); cheap enough that it's not the end of the world if it gets broken. My "mobile needs" are mainly about having access to key documentation and information, taking field notes, and the ability to do some simple "quick and dirty" calculations on the go. My main "must haves":

RealCalc (works in both conventional and RPN mode - take your pick!)
Camera with Geo-Tagging (native to most phones and tablets these days)
App for taking quick notes and memos - I have been experimenting with a few; my current "fave" is Google Keep - it's super simple, but works like a charm, and syncs instantly to my desktop computer
DropBox - so I have access to copies of all the documents relevant to a project when I am visiting site
Wolfram Alpha - think of it as "Google for Engineers / Scientists"

(And I really hope that the Android port of S-Math Studio comes out soon!)

http://julianh72.blogspot.com

 

[electricpete]

You guys already know I'm a die-hard HP48G (Droid48) fan. It resembles a pad and paper in the sense that after you have finished a calculation, your input values and your equation is still there for inspection/validation (as long as you've done it right). And keystrokes to create a program are the same as the keystrokes for doing the same task in live/calculator mode. And it has units. And it has nested navigatable directory structure to organize your variables/equations/programs. And a free companion PC emulator program where the complicated programs can be displayed in indented/color-coded fashion and edited/debugged with ease. And...I could go on, but I won't (you're welcome).

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[electricpete]

And a free companion PC emulator program where the complicated programs can be displayed in indented/color-coded fashion and edited/debugged with ease

I should clarify I'm talking about HPuseredit... which is not itself an emulator but a companion to the Emu48 emulator.

I'm really done now.

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[flash3780]

I recently discovered that Octave (Matlab clone) and GNUPlot are available for Android devices. Sure, you probably want a keyboard for writing scripts... but I could thing of some situations where you might want to take a script with you and run it and generate some plots in the field. Anyhow, I just find it incredibly cool that my phone can solve complex engineering problems.

 

[electricpete]

LPS for you flash.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...esult#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5vY3RhdmUiXQ..

I probably won't be using it in near future because I've already invested time to figuring out how to work with Droid48 and HPuseredit, and the Octave looks a little more complicated than your typical android program installation.

But it's great to know it's there if needed.

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[engsteeldesign]

Have anyone tried the BOLT DESIGN app for iPhone?