What Is Datalogic?
Datalogic is a global manufacturer in the automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) market, producing barcode scanners, handheld and rugged mobile computers, RFID systems, and sensors. Its product families are widely deployed across retail, warehousing, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare — anywhere items need to be identified, tracked, and moved through a supply chain. Datalogic's mobile computer line spans full-touch handheld devices through keyboard-equipped scan guns, designed for 1D and 2D barcodes, Direct Part Marking (DPM), and Digimarc packaging.
Where Industrial Computers Fit In
Datalogic's own devices are the capture layer — the scanner or handheld that reads the barcode. The compute layer behind them is where an industrial PC earns its place: hosting the warehouse management system (WMS), middleware, label printing and print-and-apply control, RFID gateways, and the databases that store every scan event. A common deployment pattern pairs fixed-mount scanners and handheld terminals with a fanless industrial computer on the shop floor or in the goods-in area, so scan data is processed locally without a round trip to a distant server room.
What to Look For in a Host System
| Requirement | Why It Matters | Typical Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Fanless, sealed chassis | Dust, cardboard fibre, and washdown areas kill fan-cooled PCs | Fanless industrial PC, wide-temperature rated |
| Native serial ports | Many scanners, scales, and printers use RS-232 / DB9 | 2–4× DB9 serial, isolated |
| Dual Ethernet | Separates the device VLAN from the plant network | 2× Gigabit Ethernet |
| Stable, long-life supply | Avoids re-qualifying hardware mid-deployment | 12V DC input, locking connector |
| Long-term OS support | AIDC rollouts run for years | Windows 11 Pro / IoT, Linux LTS |
For high-volume sortation or vision-assisted scanning, choose a 6-core or better processor with 16 GB RAM and NVMe storage; for simple scan-and-forward gateways, a low-power Intel N-series mini PC is often sufficient. Multiple USB 3.2 Gen 2 and USB-C ports help when several scanners, cameras, or handheld cradles share one host.
Typical Applications
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Warehouse and distribution: WMS host, conveyor sortation control, print-and-apply stations
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Retail back office: inventory reconciliation, label printing, POS peripheral management
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Manufacturing: work-in-progress tracking, DPM part traceability, kitting stations
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Healthcare: specimen and asset tracking, bedside scanning terminals
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Logistics: dock-door scanning, proof-of-delivery upload, cross-dock routing
Thinvent Industrial Computers for Scanning and AIDC Deployments
Thinvent builds fanless industrial PCs, mini PCs, thin clients, and all-in-one computers designed for exactly these environments. The Thinvent® IPC3 series, for example, pairs an Intel® Core™ i3-1215U processor (6 cores, up to 4.4 GHz, 10 MB cache) with 16 GB DDR4 RAM and a 1 TB SSD, and is available with Quad DB9 serial ports — useful when several scanners, scales, or printers connect directly. Operating system options include Windows 11 Professional, Windows 11 IoT Value, DOS, and Thinux™ Embedded Linux, so the same hardware can be standardised across a mixed estate. Thinvent systems are positioned as host computers for AIDC and barcode-scanning workflows, alongside Datalogic scanners, mobile computers, and RFID readers.
